I'm a Gamma Get Me Out of Here!
by Zachariefromoff96
Summary: Shoto Todoroki is a Gamma, which is great because he's near unmatched in terms of power; but like they say, it's lonely at the top. Joining him on his journey of self-discovery is Midoriya (an Omega in hiding), Bakugo (an Alpha) & Eijiro (a Beta). [Tododeku][Kiribaku][Graphic Depictions of Violence][Coarse Language][Lore Heavy][Slow Burn][Friends to Lovers]
1. Chapter 1

Shouto sat hunched, his forehead mapping the terrain of his laced fingers as the teacher continued to drone on about potential paths that awaited them after middle school. Why did it matter? Given his quirk, everyone expected him to become a professional hero. It was almost unheard of for an individual to inherit such a perfect combination of their parent's quirks. Once again, he was being sold the illusion of choice.

"Todoroki, I suppose you'll be trying out for a position at U.A." Came the teacher's voice, as if to mock him.

A simple nod was his prescribed reply as the classroom was once again filled with the vicarious whispers of fellow students. As always, he was the object of their sheeplike admiration.

"Now class, please fill out the following forms. I know with the continuous evolution of existing quirks and being 5th generation quirk-wielders, professional heroism is growing in popularity; but we must be realistic about your future. After all some quirks are better suited to more modest jobs, which can be just as, if not more respectable than being a hero. Remember, it's not about what quirk you have, it's about how you choose to use it."

The murmurs died down considerably as the teacher hovered his hand over the papers, ushering them to their respective desks with his Beta quirk, Selective Levitation. Such quirks were common, but their skill ceilings were too low to be effectively trained for hero work; as such wielders usually pursued normal jobs, only using their quirks for convenience. Once the class was busied, the teacher began making his way to the back of the classroom, where Shouto was sat, eyes glazed as he idly stared at puffs of frost he was exhaling.

"Now I do suppose you saw this coming and you probably saw the speech I gave earlier to be comical, since you stand out as a gifted exception even among young alphas. Not to mention your father's prowess." Sighed the teacher, reaching into his pocket to produce a yellowed envelope. "I hope that you work hard and go on to become a symbol of peace for your generation."

Shouto stared down at the envelope, U.A.'s logo neatly printed on the cliché red wax seal. Trust his father to make his life a living hell.

"Class dismissed."

* * *

Shouto wasn't sure if the envelope from U.A. was protected by some underground hero's security quirk, but it had admittedly made his bag seem heavier on the walk home from school. The chances of students being admitted to U.A. via recommendation was so low that is was a myth of sorts within his middle school. A fairy tale made up by quirkless students to lure arrogant quirk-wielders into a false sense of security before their final exams. Of course, the reigning No. 2 Professional Hero, Endeavor, would easily be able to pull some strings here and there to guarantee his son a position. Once again, his enrolment in U.A. only served to satisfy his father's vicarious exploits.

Shouto turned to admire his housing unit; it wasn't much, but it was his. A modest 300 square feet with a living room, kitchen, bedroom and bathroom. It was cramped and lacked most modern luxuries, but it was good enough if it meant he didn't have to come home to his father's self-inflicted housefires every day. Following his parent's divorce and government intervention he had been granted the options of a youth allowance or foster care. The whole ordeal had been kept a secret from the press of course, which meant signing a pile of legal and confidentiality agreements. Shouto was rather convinced that by age 15 he had signed more confidentially agreements than the average professional hero. At least it was good practice for his future career path.

Concealing his Gamma status would be even easier in a school full of Alphas; and given the high skill ceiling of his future classmates he'd be called on less by teacher to demonstrate his "natural-born" talents. Shouto knew that such thoughts were just his feeble attempts at optimism; no one would suspect him of being a Gamma since practically no one even knew of the status to begin with. The government had long since passed laws that forced all known Gammas to be registered as Alphas on their medical papers, and a mass signing of confidentiality agreements.

Although his father had rejoiced the birth of a second Gamma within the family, Shouto had seen it as nothing but a lifelong curse. Gammas could only be produced by an Alpha-Alpha pairing, and even then, the chances of an offspring bearing the status was a meagre 1%. Since a majority of Alphas preferred to search for their fated mates, rather than canoodling among their own; there was only six formally documented Gammas in existence that Shouto knew of. After all Alpha-Alpha pairings usually resulted in constant power-struggles. Which ultimately ended in divorce and a domineering Alpha female being stuck with whatever children she managed to birth. Gammas were nothing but harbingers of misery and destruction as far as Shouto was concerned. Their unrivalled power and astronomically high skill ceilings; coupled with a complete pheromone resistance made them more likely than any other status to turn to villainy.

Shouto's gaze flickered over the dented kettle on the stove; his fingers tracing the scarred flesh outlining his left eye. It was almost laughable that someone who could heat water by simply holding a cup in their left hand had insisted on holding onto the outdated piece of technology. Then again, this was the same child who had once frantically tried to extinguish his crude fabric toys and hand-carved wooden figures of All Might every time his father had set them ablaze. The same child who had clung to his mother's legs and begged her not to go as she was dragged away from him and paramedics tended to his wounds.

Settling down on the well-loved tatami, Shouto dug the envelope out of his bag. Ignoring the mild itch that had been pestering his left hand since he'd received it, he flicked open the seal. Grabbing the encased paper with his right hand, he allowed a sheet of frost to form over it, a smirk of satisfaction gracing his lips as he launched it at the door and watched as the shards slowly melted into the doormat, leaving the waterlogged scraps to mark point of impact. The smell of burning plastic filling the room as the pocket-sized projector short-circuited and fizzled out in the newly formed puddles.

He was going to do this on his own terms, whether his father approved or not.


	2. Chapter 2

Staring up at the building's signature neighbouring-tower architecture, Shouto was rather certain it'd be impossible to not notice the obnoxiously comical "U" the bridge formed when combined with the rest of the structure. This was without a doubt the outside of U.A. academy. Despite the clear skies, the sun seemed dimmed and the cloud greyed in the tinted glass of the construction. It was quite a welcoming sight if Shouto did say so himself, or rather a cue for examinees to heed the trepidatious calls that coiled in the pits of their subconscious.

The written portion of the exam had taken place the week prior. Needless to say, he'd been rather disappointed; it had been a gauge of common sense rather than the convoluted behemoth past examinees had portrayed it as. Hopefully the physical examination would prove more interesting.

By the time Shouto navigated his way to the auditorium a majority of the seats had been filled, leaving only suboptimal ones in the corners behind examinees possessing notable height or eccentric facial features. The lights were dimmed, and the hum of the projector was audible as the menagerie of faceless silhouettes turned to face the stage. Shouto paced down the steps, finding his seat as a slim man sauntered his way onto the stage.

Shouto immediately recognised him as Professional Her Present Mic. He'd seen those aviators and signature well-waxed moustache seated on his father's left one too many times as a child on T.V. Being officially recognised as the second strongest professional hero on the scene meant endless publicity and interviews. Most people would've heartily accepted the attention. Unfortunately, his father was, and never would be "most people". The cliché smiles his father wore during such interviews could easily feature in dental adverts; but it was all a farce. Once the cameras were cut and his father entered the family home, the next few hours of Shouto's childhood would be filled with the endless rants of living in All Might's shadow. Even the weight of Fuyumi's custom-made bedroom door couldn't soften the blow as the smell of smoke would fill the house. Such ordeals had always ended with his mother's profuse cussing and soaked elementary school textbooks being fanned dry on the dinner table.

It seemed the green haired individual seated in front of him shared in the realisation.  
"It's the voice hero, Present Mic. Wow…! I listen to his radio show every week. It's inspiring." Came the enthusiastic squealing.

"Shaddup you damn nerd." Warned the boy seated to the individual's left.

Both of the individuals were wearing the same shoddy black polyester blazers and collared white undershirts. Probably students from a lesser-known public middle school. Based on their exchange Shouto assumed that the two were friends of some sort. After all, friends were meant to talk informally and exchange casual banter. Or at least that's what Fuyumi had told him on her brief visits during his childhood.

"This is how the test will go, my listeners! You'll be experiencing hour long 'mock cityscape manoeuvres'!" Came the amplified voice of Present Mic once again.

According to Present Mic 'mock cityscape manoeuvres' was the premise of U.A.'s practical entrance exam. The examinees would be randomly allocated to one of seven testing locations based on the letter on their form and fight against faux villains to gain points; with at least one point being required to pass. Reading through the information outlines of each robot Shouto concluded that his quirk was best suited for taking out single and double pointers. The single pointers were described as nimble and fragile; they'd be completely incapacitated on icy terrain. Double pointers were slower but with bulkier constitution and armed with basic weaponry, easy targets for small ice walls. It was obvious that triple pointers were a decoys for examinees who preferred to rush into combat rather than assessing a situation; while they were extremely slow moving, with average constitution, the advanced level of weaponry they were equipped with would undoubtedly prove too much for most inexperience wielders. Quirk-countering or quirk-emulating weapons were traditionally reserved for professional hero and police use for the capture and containment of quirk-proficient villains. Trust U.A. to start sorting the suitable candidates from the dreamers before the examination even started.

Just as Present Mic finished explaining the rules against attacking fellow candidates and the legal consequences of breaching them, a neatly groomed boy's hand shot up.

"There appear to be no fewer than four varieties of faux villain on this handout. In your orientation you only listed three. Such a blatant error, if it is one, is highly unbecoming for U.A., Japan's top academy!" His right index finger pressing his metal-rimmed glasses back on the bridge of his nose. "Also, you with the curly hair, your muttering has been going on this entire time. It's distracting. This is an entrance exam, not some sort of game, if you don't want to take things seriously than leave."

Shouto observed the green haired boy from earlier retreating further back into his chair with each word. He didn't know if "Killer Words" was his quirk, but he had to admit he was rather impressed regardless at the sheer dominance the Alpha was displaying over the Betas in the audience. An Alpha skilled in the art of pheromone manipulation was a force to be reckoned with.

"Thanks for the catch examinee 7111, the final variety of faux villain is more of an obstacle that should be avoided at all costs. It will rampage around the courses so none of you get too comfortable out there." Came the electronically enhanced voice of the Pro Hero. "Now remember examinees, as the school's motto goes 'true heroism consists in being superior to the ills of life.' Break a leg kiddos."

* * *

Being surrounded by a cohort of anxious quirk-wielders in track suits was not a foreign concept to Shouto. However, this predominantly Alpha group appeared to have a more imposing range than his middle school class. Instead of the dime-a-dozen Selective Levitation quirks and their variants, he was now surrounded by quirks better suited to combat. It seemed he had been placed in the same group as the glasses wearing Alpha from the orientation. Now that he was sporting an athletic bodysuit the exhausts protruding from his calves were now visible. Shouto suspected he'd be primarily targeting double pointers with enhanced kicks rather than bothering to chase down the nimble single pointers.

Another familiar face was the curly haired boy from earlier, who was already receiving a stern chastising from the Alpha. Based on his average looking build and ill-fitting azure tracksuit his quirk wasn't a mutant-type. Perhaps it was a transformation-type or an emitter-type, albeit a weaker variant. Regardless of quirk-type, he was definitely a Beta and a weak-willed one at that.

"You have one hour to acquire as many points as possible. Begin!" Came the electronic voice from the top of the observation tower. "What's wrong? Do you need a starting line? The examination has officially commenced. Go! Go! Go!"

In their panic, a majority of candidates ran straight forward like a mutant stampede. Letting out a puff of frost, Shouto flicked his right hand and focused on dropping the temperature of the ground in contact with his snow boot soles. Satisfied with the thickness of frost, he gathered moisture in the air to his hand. Gesticulating in a subtle circular motion an elongated icicle found its way into his hand. Propelling himself forwards with the make-shift skis, he set off down the leftwards path.


	3. Chapter 3

With the bottom of his feet serving as a temperature conductor, the dirt paths were rapidly transformed into an iced arena. Now the faux villains would be fighting him in his element. By steering himself along the rapidly forming trail he could conserve energy for combat rather than needlessly exerting himself by running. They'd come to him eventually.

It was a strategy inspired by his mother's niche scolding methods for when she found Shouto up past his bedtime as a child. While Shouto had to admit at 6pm curfew at the age of 7 was a tad excessive; she sure had an effectively way of getting him into bed by 5:50pm. Rather than bothering to chase her son around the house, she'd simply freeze the floors and direct herself by summoning pillars. Shouto's attempts to escape were feeble at best as she cornered him every time. Of course, such talents were not exclusively for rounding up her zealous children. Every winter she'd fashion Shouto and each of his siblings a sled of ice and take them to the neighbourhood's small hill. He'd spend hours enjoying the feeling of the wind it his face as it tussled the bicolour parting his mother was so particular about.

As expected, a group of one pointers soon found his way to him. Their treads clumsily attempting to grip the icy terrain. Shouto spun the icicle in his hand as he cornered in on the closest robot; a metallic clank accompanying the shatter of glass as he pierced its visual receptor. It whirred weakly before slumping to the ground motionless. The rest of the pack receiving similar treatment in due course. Shouto noticed a smaller variant miserably trying to flee as the friction from its treads started to melt the ice, jamming them further with mud as the water mingled with the underlying dirt. It's fate replicating the rest of its group. 8 points.

Making a left onto wider street, a pair of two pointers found their way to him. Lower himself to the ground in a half-crouch he placed his left hand on the ground. Small jagged clumps of ice forming beneath his touch like stalagmites. Circling them he slowly raised his hand, the spikes evolving in width and height as he did so. His so-called attackers soon found themselves acting as machines in his personal coliseum. Returning to his offensive stance Shouto leisurely brought his fingers together; concentrating on locating the water molecules present within the ring before violently lashing his right arm across his body. The wall to the robots' right rapidly expanding to crush them. Motor oil splattering against the wall, staining it a pale brown. 12 points.

Continuing through the labyrinth of hollow apartment buildings Shouto continued to decimate whatever faux villains were unfortunate enough to stumble into his domain. With at least one quarter of Block B now floored with frost, farming points had become facile to him. The fact he hadn't encountered any fellow examinees since the exercise had commenced was rather unprecedented for. Not that it concerned him, the fewer students on his side of the field, the better. Less competition.

"Uwah!" Came an all too familiar high-pitched scream.

Leave it to fate to mock him once again.

A three pointer came crashing through a building to his right. It's arms already humming with an aggressive yellow static. Already in pursuit of another examinee it seemed. His suspicions were confirmed as the Emerald-haired Beta from earlier scrambled out of the wreckage. Half-standing, he struggled to find his footing on the frictionless surface. Shouto watched as the tatty dirt-stained sneakers of the boy scrambled forward; his attempts to evade the robot only acting to close what little distance there was.

Based on the colour the weapon was emitting, Shouto was inclined to believe it was a quirk emulating weapon, rather than a quirk countering weapon. Most likely electricity based. The faux villain's treads were already burning through the glaze of frost. This was bad. If the robot continued to produce water at this rate the ground would soon be nothing more than a glorified conductor. If he was going to take this thing out, it needed to be fast.

Thankfully, the Beta was serving as a satisfactory distraction for the robot. Its head jittering from side to side in a ticking motion as it tried to optimise its strikes. Shouto lowered himself to a combative stance once more, making eye contact with the Beta as he did so. They were wide with fear, pupils dilated and shaking in a silent plea for help. Shouto launched himself forwards leaving a barrage of ice in his wake. Diverting its attention from its cornered target, the robot spun its head and arm to the right, countering the attack. Shouto wincing; forearms crossing to form a block as he was pelted with shards of ice. The robot's attention now focused on him; its blade crackling violently. Shouto slowly regained his stance. Of course, it wouldn't be that easy. Its visual sensor whirring to focus on Shouto.

Raising his right hand once more, Shouto concentrated on the moisture within the enemy's mud embedded treads. Clamping his fingers into a fist as spikes of ice erupted from within the robot piercing its engine. Oil forming a rust-coloured puddle before seeping into the tread-indented ground. Its blades crackling weakly before fizzling out.

His breaths now heavier and shoulders less tense than before, he turned to face the Beta who was shielding his face with torn-tracksuit sleeve clad arms. The boy's eyes were less wide now, allowing Shouto to see his irises were an identical shade of green to his hair.

"T-t-thank you so much, I don't know where it came from. It just sort of jumped out at me. I was going to fight it, but then I saw it was carrying a quirk-emulator and I knew I didn't stand a chance. I just need one point, one point so I can pass." Shouto's breathing gradually returned to normal as he stared blankly at the boy's absent-minded yammering and eccentric arm movements. "Oh, before I forget, I'm Midoriya. Midoriya Izuku."

"Todoroki. Todoroki Shouto." Came the stoic reply.

Judging from the immaculate condition the robot had arrived in, even after crashing through a semi-solid structure. Shouto doubted that Midoriya had even managed to land a hit on it. He was able to identify its weapon so he wasn't completely ignorant, but then surely, he would know that his Beta-type quirk was too weak to pass the practical exam. At least 50 minutes had elapsed since the exam had commenced. To not have amassed a single point within the first half an hour spoke volume's about the boy's inexperience. Not to mention his endless commentary. For someone without a sound-based emitter quirk, there was no reason to be making that much noise. In his pre-fatigued state, the last thing Shouto wanted was a hoard of faux villains cornering them; forcing him to protect his fellow examinee once again.

* * *

"This year's quite the bumper crop, huh?" Mused Present Mic "There are intelligence gathers. Mobility experts. Those who adapt to any situation. Decision makers. And of course. Natural-born warriors…"

The methodical flashing from the surveillance cameras serving as the only form of lighting in the room.

"It's far too soon to be making assumptions." Replied Eraser Head, pulling his ashen scarf up to cover his mouth once more. The glowing screens casting a pale blue hum onto his tired eyes. Experimentally he hovered his finger over the caution-taped border of the Yaruki Switch "The examination concludes in 10 minutes. This should tell us more."

"Now, now we wouldn't want mass casualties, would we." Came the maternal voice of Recovery Girl as she prodded at the linoleum with her syringe shaped staff. "They may be powerful, but they're still children."

"They got their warning. It's their fault if they failed to pay attention during the orientation." Sighed Eraser Head, index finger now resting on the button.

"Just make sure no one's crushed when it exits the hangar."

A click echoed through the silent room.

* * *

Shouto looked up in confusion as the blaring of sirens filled the air. Perhaps it was a timer of sorts to notify candidates of the dwindling time they had left. No. Given the frequency and volume it was sounding at it seemed more like a warning. Midoriya had noticed it too, he was beginning to lose his footing on the ice again as the ground flared up with vibrations. His complexion paling considerably as the building behind Shouto erupted with the sound of groaning metal.

Shouto's cheek grazed the icy floor as the force of impact threw him forward. A sickening crunch accompanied a stabbing pain as a concrete slab flung itself at his right leg. Midoriya still lay frozen against the wall. Eyes wide and trembling as his mouth hung agape in a silent scream, a sheet of cold sweat forming on his brow.

"Get out of here. Go!" Yelled Shouto, his warning falling deaf on the boy's ears.

Raising his face off the ground Shouto attempted to locate any moisture in the air surrounding the Beta. Weakly flicking his right hand upwards he summoned a small pillar under the boy's right hand. Hopefully he'd use that to regain his footing and flee. He wouldn't make it out of this, but at least he wouldn't have Midoriya's blood on his hands.

A puff of frost escaping his lips as he watched Midoriya clutch the frozen formation and slowly bring himself to his feet. Catching his gaze, Shouto now noticed that the look of terror on the boy's face mere moments earlier had been erased. A determined look of focus now in its place.

What the hell was he doing? The boy couldn't even scratch a three pointer and now he was going to engage in combat with the one entity in the exam they had been instructed to avoid. It seemed the boy lacked even the most basic form of self-awareness.

* * *

"We have one confirmed casualty." Reported Recovery Girl as she enhanced the grainy footage of Shouto being thrown forwards. "We should shut it down"

"Why? It would be unfair for previous candidates who completed the exam under regular conditions." Groaned Eraser Head "We can't just lower the difficulty to suit the needs of a single person."

Both fell silent as a scrawny double-antennaed silhouette entered the room.

"The mark of a true hero is rising to the challenge at those times when there's nothing to be gained." Came the sickly accented voice "Let's see how these young heroes rise to the challenge."

* * *

Shouto stared as the ice under the Beta's feet began to crack. An emerald sheen encasing his lower body like static as glassy shards were thrown up around his feet. The pillar to the boy's left shattering as he kicked off it to meet the robot head on. Shouto continued to observe the boy, now a speck in the air, his right arm now emitting the same brilliant green lightning bolts.

"SMAAASH!" A crater marking the point of impact as the sparks grew and crackled violently as the boy swung his fist in an uppercut motion. The robot's tank-sized treads leaving black burn-out marks on the concrete walls of the building as it was dragged upwards. Midoriya's fist finally disconnecting from the crater as the robot went flying backwards into the apartment block leaving a similarly shaped hole to the one it had emerged from. It finally came to a rest a few block's later, leaving a newly formed air tunnel in the scaffolding of the structures. Shouto coughed at the dust the numerous collisions had produced. What the hell? There was no way a Beta-type emitter quirk would be powerful enough to annihilate a U.A. designed obstacle. Unless…

Looking back up at Midoriya, Shouto noticed he now laid motionless as he plummeted to the ground, a weakly fizzling shooting star. His legs and right arm bruised a nauseating shade of burgundy as they flapped about in the wind like bunting flags. At this rate he'd die. A Beta frame wouldn't be able to sustain that much fall damage, especially in such a severely injured state.

This was his fault. He had no reason to even enrol for the entrance exam in the first place. He'd been hand chosen by the school's council and spat back in their faces. This kid had nothing. No spot. No points. No chance of passing. Yet he'd jumped to Shouto's aid when told to run; and now he was stuck like this. An ice barrage would do nothing to help cushion the fall. Even if he used his left side to try and melt a pool of water within the barrage, getting the angle right so the walls would remain thick enough to contain the liquid would be impossible in his incapacitated state. The risk of potential impalement was also higher than Shouto was willing to take. Snow would be the best alternative, but he'd never succeeded in producing it. Trying to locate individual water molecules in the air and freeze them to the right consistency without them grouping into pillars was impossible at Shouto's current level. The closest he'd ever gotten was hail, and two pellets at that. He'd have the blood of the Beta on his hands after all.

"Excuse me!" Squeaked a voice from within the rubble. "I know how to help. I just need a path."

Snapping out of his thoughts Shouto saw a brown-haired girl, clothed in a baggy unbranded tracksuit emerge from the tunnel the obstacle had formed earlier.

Shouto nodded affirmatively. Whatever quirk this girl possessed it was going to be of more use than his. With the weight of the concrete digging into his right leg more heavily than before, he placed his right hand flat on the ground. Thankfully it was still frozen enough to serve as a sufficient conductor. An ice column emerging next to the girl. Ensuring the column had adequate foot holds and hand grips was slowing the rate at which Shouto could produce it. His gaze following Midoriya as he continued to fall at an alarming rate, still unmoving.

He watched as the girl tapped the bottom of her runners, her steps now seeming lighter than before. She assumed a running position as she approached the forming column, jumping off the ground to scale it. Her body appearing weightless as she climbed, it was almost perfectly horizontal despite the steep slope. Noticing the ease with which she was handling the ordeal; Shouto committed the last of his focus into making the column as high as he possibly could. Watching as she intercepted the path of Midoriya's descent, reaching for his hand as he fell past; the tips of her fingers gently brushing his. Shouto winced at the sight.

Regaining his composure Shouto readied himself to see the splayed remains of the boy who had once been known as Midoriya Izuku. Nothing. Not even semi-frozen droplets of blood dotting the thin glaze of ice. Staring upwards at the girl he noticed her brows were firmly furrowed together. Fingers clamped in an "A" gesture. Midoriya laid suspended. Frozen in time as he hovered downwards. An inaudible thud resounding as he reached the ground.

"Release!" Came the now strained voice of the girl as her knees buckled together and she began to slide back down the column.

Shouto noticed her newly weakened state and allowed his left hand to come into contact with the ground. Steam hissing outwards from the column as it melted, the girl gently skidding to a halt in the lukewarm puddle. He'd ask her name out of courtesy. Inquire about her quirk too given how useful it had proven in the situation. But given her crumpled stance and perceptible retching he doubted she was willing to partake in idle conversation.

His gaze flicking back to Midoriya who was feebly gripping at the ice, an odd feeling of relief welled up inside of him. Somehow a Beta had taken out a previously unchallenged entity and sustained non-fatal wounds. While the boy's recklessness was not a characteristic warranting praise; Shouto had to admit he had displayed prejudice against him.

For the first time since he was a small child, Shouto found himself softly uttering the phrase.  
"Thank you."


	4. Chapter 4

"This year was quite the show huh?" Mused Present Mic, the projected results of the practical exam casting a mellow light on his aviators.

"See, they handled the obstacle fine." Groaned Erased Head, his gaze dodging Recovery Girl's glare "It's an official part of the exam. If they can't pass it at the difficulty we set, then they don't belong here."

"They did more than just handle it. That green haired kiddo sent it flying! I get pumped up just looking at him." Cheered Present Mic "Although when I told those kiddos to break a leg, I didn't mean it literally…"

"You two create so much work for me." Huffed Recovery Girl.

"Just do your rounds already, Tie-Dye's had his leg stuck under a concrete slab for the past 10 minutes and counting. We all have a job to do here. Go do yours." Said Eraser Head, stifling a yawn under his scarf.

Letting out an exasperated sigh, Recovery Girl turned to grab her satchel full of supplies off the table. She took one last chance to shoot Eraser Head a dirty look as the elevator doors dinged close.

All Might learned back in his seat as the commotion died down. Izuku Midoriya: Villain: 0. Rescue: 60. The screen cast a dim glow on his toothy grin.

"What are we going to do about Katsuki Bakugo and Shouto Todoroki?" Came the voice of Eraser Head once more. "Both used their quirks to endanger other candidates despite being made aware of the consequences."

"The rules told them not to directly attack other candidates." Corrected All Might.

"Just because Todoroki saved some wide-eyed kid you happened to take pity on doesn't mean the rules don't apply to him. If he decided to freeze a city in the future because of your negligence thousands of quirkless Omega lives could be endangered."

"He did save Midoriya from a three pointer he didn't need to engage in combat with, and sustained injuries in the process. He later assisted Midoriya in taking out the obstacle, even instructing the boy to flee knowing fully well he may not have made it out of the situation alive. Interjected Nezu, taking a sip from his coffee. "The jury wishes to award him 45 rescue points."

"For fixing a problem he created?"

"Hey, hey, hey. Chill out." Said Present Mic, pushing up his aviators with his index finger. "How 'bout we meet in the middle and just give him 0 rescue points? We already sent him a letter of acceptance anyway."

"Fine." Sighed Eraser Head "But do I really need to explain Bakugo's case? He was willingly detonating his quirk within firing range of other candidates. Those were definitely not the action of a hero."

"He is quite aggressive." Agreed Nezu, stirring in extra creamer. "But you know what happens to those with his level of potential if they aren't shown the right path."

Nezu paused his stirring to look at Eraser Head. His gaze seemed unnaturally preoccupied with the joins in the linoleum panels.

"The jury has ruled to deduct 50% of his collected villain points."

Silence resounded throughout the room.

* * *

Shouto sighed, the events from the week before weighing down on him. As expected, he'd received his acceptance letter. Or rather U.A. had resent their letter of recommendation. Much like the outside of the building, the interior was littered with comically large versions of the school's logo. He continued to admire the school's narcissistic architecture as he made his way down the hallway of the fifth floor; his shoes making shuffling noises as they dragged along the floor. They came to a rest outside a door labelled "1.A". It seemed U.A. was a sucker for making this glaringly obvious to their first years.

Accessible too it seemed judging from the size of the door. Shouto was yet to lay eyes on an individual his age over 20ft tall, but with the recent debut of Professional Hero Mount Lady the idea was beginning to seem less foreign. He reached for the height-appropriate handle. Empty. Of course, he was the first student to arrive. The scenario was so cliché Shouto was tempted to roll his eyes at the string of events fate had laid in front of him. Although he had to admit there were certainly strategic benefits to limitless seating options. The window seat at the back-left hand side of the classroom seemed well lit, receiving lighting from both the overhead circline lamps and natural light seeping in through the window. Perfect for maintaining focus during lessons. He took a seat, allowing himself to admire the spring scenery. The mark of a new school year.

Shouto was interrupted from his idle gazing by the prompt entrance of the neatly dressed Alpha for the orientation. Upon making eye contact the Alpha began making mechanical strides towards him.

"Iida Tenya. middle school graduate of Somei Private Academy. Alpha status with mutant-type quirk, Engine. Pleased to make your acquaintance." Greeted the boy, his hand extending to offer a handshake.

"Todoroki Shouto. Nice to make your acquaintance as well." Replied Shouto, standing to return the handshake firmly.

Saying Iida was stiff would be a mass over-simplification, even by Shouto's standards. While the boy did seem polite, he had laid out more information than Shouto was willing to return on a first-greeting's basis. He was an upper-class Alpha and it showed. Somei was renowned for schooling Japan's Alpha elite. Fuyumi had also attended the academy in her youth, leading to Shouto knowing more than most about what went on behind the scenes. According to her the school constantly provided students with knowledge on the controversial aspects of the Alpha status. Pheromone manipulation and the chemistry of heat suppressants included. Shouto could tell Iida was eager to inquire further about his abilities based on the way he kept pushing his already aligned glasses further up his nose.

As Iida cleared his throat to speak, the duo was interrupted by the door slamming open accompanied with mild explosions. A platinum-blonde boy stomped out of the smoke cloud, tossing his bag idly at a desk. Shouto instantly recognised him as the individual who had been sitting next to Midoriya at the orientation. As ill-tempered as ever it seemed.

"So, this is U.A.'s famous 1.A huh? Smaller turn out than expected. I wasn't aware this year's examinees were so shitty only two besides me made it in. Oh well it's nice to have some extras to spice things up." Chuckled the boy, taking a kick at the leg of his desk.

Shouto glanced over at Iida who had returned to his wooden posture from earlier. But before he could provide the loudmouth with the same rehearsed introduction, the classroom door opened as students poured in. At first glance there were obviously quirks suited for hero work, such as the frog-like features of an emerald-haired girl, the crow-head of an otherwise normal boy and the invisibility of what Shouto could only guess was a girl based on their uniform choice. Others seemed less obvious, like the grape protrusions on the head of a short boy and the pillar box red, spiked hair of an average looking boy.

As the students selected their seats, Shouto watched Iida straighten himself up before approaching Midoriya's friend.

"Iida Tenya. middle school graduate of Somei Private Academy. Alpha status with mutant-type quirk, Engine. Pleased to make your acquaintance." Came the greeting once more "If it wouldn't be too much trouble, please refrain from damaging school property. It's disrespectful to the Omegas who put energy into making it."

"Like I care what middle school you're from you extra. I should blow your elitist ass to bits." Replied the boy haughtily, placing his other foot on the desk.

Before the situation could escalate further, the door opened once more to two familiar faces. Much to Shouto's surprise Midoriya entered. His cheeks tinted a faint pink as he held the door open for the brown-haired girl. He flashed Shouto a quick smile before resuming his conversation with the girl.

Shouto had to admit that the two made quite an ideal Beta-Beta pairing, any children that resulted from it would be guaranteed a powerful quirk, quite rare for individuals of their status. While Shouto had long since come to terms with the fact he'd never be able to experience infatuation let alone romantic love, he still enjoyed observing other statuses interact with one another and pondering their potential quirk results. Unlike Alphas and Omegas, Betas did not emit powerful pheromones. Instead they emitted weak pheromones that could only other Betas could detect. Based on how compatible the other Beta viewed their pheromones they would either initiate friendship or courtship. It was one of the reasons Betas made up a majority of the population despite their lower fertility rates and average quirks. Being able to determine what relationship would be most suitable between them based on a single meeting meant they were able to form tightly knit communities and pairings faster than Alphas and Omegas. Who were forced to rely on an Omega's monthly heat to determine suitable pairings, when the emitted pheromones would be at their strongest.

"If you're here to socialize then get out." Came a gruff voice from behind the duo.

As they stepped back in mild shock, Shouto was able to see that the voice had come from a raven-haired man encased in what Shouto recognised as an insulated sleeping bag. The class murmured violently among themselves before falling silent as the tired gaze of the man fell upon them.

"It took you eight seconds to shut up. Time is a precious resource. Not very rational of you to waste it like that." He continued, shedding the sleeping bag. "I'm your homeroom teacher, Shota Aizawa. Pleasure's all mine. Now change into your gym clothes and head out to the grounds. Let's try not to waste any more of my valuable time."

* * *

Much like everything else at U.A. the gym uniform was branded with the school's logo. A Prussian blue cotton-polyester blend with white carbon fibre lines forming the iconic symbol. It was snug, while still allowing room for the rapid movement that would undoubtedly take place during the school's practical classes.

"Woah, awesome hair! Very manly." Came a determined voice.

Turning around Shouto came face to face with the red-haired boy he had noticed earlier.

"I'm Kirishima Eijiro. I may be a Beta but don't underestimate me!" Said the boy gesturing to himself.

"Todoroki Shouto." Came the stoic reply.

"Hey, we even have matching scars! Must be a sign we're destined be to best buds huh?"

Shouto watched as the boy stroked the tiny triangle of discoloured skin above his right eye with his thumb. He had to admit that while the boy's intentions were clearly friendly, his comparisons were rather distasteful. As the overly enthusiastic voice continued to fill his ear, Shouto found himself letting out another puff of frost.

"So, what do you think of U.A. so far? The homeroom teach is a bit of a dick, but it must be nice to be among so many of your own. I mean I bet middle school was boring for you right? I mean it doesn't get more manly than being an Alpha. Powerful quirks, stronger builds, not to mention all the Omega babes you could ever want. Awesome." Continued the mindless blabbering.

As expected, he had been at U.A. for less than an hour and people were already starting to assuming his status. The concept of being approached for any reason besides demonstrating his quirk was rather foreign to him. It was an odd feeling, but not unpleasant. A small smile graced his lips as he acknowledged the boy with a curt nod.

* * *

"A test of our quirks?!" Exclaimed the class, as they stared out at the Olympic-sized grounds the school boasted.

"U.A is known for its "freestyle education system. That applies to the teachers here as well." Explained Eraser Head gruffly. "Bakugo. How far could you throw in middle school?"

"Sixty-seven meters." Replied the ill-tempered boy from earlier, disinterestedly kicking at the dirt with his sneakers.

"Try with your quirk. You can do whatever you want as long as you stay inside the circle." Instructed Eraser Head tossing Bakugo a softball. "Unlike the rest of this country we don't prohibit the use of quirks during physical tests."

Shouto watched the boy doing mild arm stretches before making his way to the painted circle. A snarl made its way onto his face as he yelled "DIE!"

The softball was violently launched into the sky a giant explosion serving as to accelerate it. As it continued on its upwards path clouds within its radius were pushed aside, forming a small tunnel which the sun shone through. Obviously satisfied with his accomplishment, he turned to flash a predatory glare in Midoriya's direction. The object of his aggression paling considerably.

"It's important for us to know our limits." Stated Eraser Head dryly, turning his laser measurer to the class so they could see the 705.2m clearly. "That's the first rational step to figuring out what kind of heroes you'll be. Also, since you're planning on becoming professional heroes after three years here… The student with the lowest combined score across the eight events will be deemed hopeless and expelled."

The eight events were typical middle school fitness standardisation tests. Soft-ball throwing, standing long jump, 50-meter dash, endurance running, grip strength, side-to-side stepping, upper-body training and seated toe touch. Based on his quirk Shouto deduced that he would be best suited to fully exerting himself in standing long jump, 50-meter dash and endurance running. Using his quirk to form sheets of ice would completely nullify any friction between his feet and the ground making him both fast and efficient. His performance in the other events would undoubtedly be considered average compared to the rest of the Alpha-dominated class, but it would be more than enough to keep him out of the bottom.

"Pretty harsh huh? I mean I knew U.A's classes were tough, but I had no idea they were this tough." Whined Eijiro. "With a generic Beta quirk like mine I've got no chance. Talk 'bout discrimination. But hey, that Bakugo kid was something else. Did ya see how he sent that ball flying? Wish I had a quirk that flashy."

It seemed the rather outgoing Beta has been serious about what he said in the changing rooms. Since they'd entered the field the boy had done nothing but follow him around and make commentaries about either Mr. Aizawa and his general unpleasantness or comment on how "manly" their fellow classmates seemed. Shouto felt another puff of frost leave his mouth as he positioned his feet behind the white line that marked the starting lane of the 50m dash.

"Todoroki, a word." Came the voice of Eraser Head. "I avoided mentioning this in front of the class as I didn't want to embarrass you on your first day at U.A. However, based on what I've observed from your practical exam footage I suppose it would be wise to tell you this now. U.A. has strict policies in place to prevent the unauthorised use of quirks against other students. You breached these rules during the practical exam and were penalised accordingly. If you pull such a stunt again, I will see to it that you are expelled regardless of your performance in the following tests."

Shouto was sure he heard Bakugo scoff. The ill-tempered Alpha was wearing the same malicious snarl he had directed at Midoriya earlier and was readying himself to run in the lane to Shouto's right.

"Also, Bakugo I wouldn't be so smug either. Your conduct during the practical exam was unacceptable. You were also penalised accordingly. More severely than Todoroki might I add, unlike him you were knowingly putting the safety of fellow candidates at risk. I was tempted to fail you despite the impressive number of points you managed to accumulate. Unfortunately, I am not the one who gets a final say at this institution. I may have called on you for demonstration purposes, but that was only because I knew your quirk was ideal. Nothing more, nothing less. Continue to disregard the rules and you too will be expelled."

As his right ear was filled with the sound of Bakugo cussing under his breath another small smile found its way onto Shout's lips. It seemed that this school year was shaping up to be more interesting than Shouto initially anticipated.


	5. Chapter 5

It was classes like the ones run by Present Mic that made Shouto thankful for his window seat. While the man was clearly well-versed in the English language, Shouto had been fluent since the end of middle school. Similarly, most of the general studies classes offered by U.A. were nothing but monotonous droning to him. Sitting at the back of the class had its definite perks. Besides being called on rarely to answer questions, it also meant remedying his boredom came easily in the form of his classmates' antics.

As Shouto had anticipated, his first gym class at U.A. had been full on impressive displays of quirk manipulation. However, the academy's rules had notably hindered his performance. Mr Aizawa had prohibited the use of his quirk to freeze the ground, forcing him to rely on constantly refreezing the soles of his sneakers to minimise the friction between his feet and the ground. While understandable from a practical standpoint, it was extremely exerting to constantly have to regulate the temperature of the rubber soles of his shoes, which were a hopeless temperature conductor to begin with. Although his 4.7 seconds in the 50-metre dash had been in the top percentile of the class and his two and a half minutes to complete the endurance course was respectable in its own right; his 60m soft-ball toss had paled in comparison to a majority of the class. The brown-haired girl, or Uraraka Ochaco as he later learned, had sent her soft ball into orbit. Even Midoriya had launched it a considerable 800m, albeit at the cost of a severely broken finger. For the first time in his life, his talents weren't making school headlines or earning him the teacher's endless praise. Quite the opposite, if anything. Mr Aizawa had criticised him continuously on his poor temperature regulation during his race; stating how it was a hazard to other students. It was clear to him that U.A. was indeed an astronomical jump up from the nameless middle school he had spent the last three years at; not that it mattered to him.

* * *

Like the rest of the campus, U.A. had spared no expense in the construction of its cafeteria. There were multiple stories with generic plastic chairs scattered about, with an array of larger and reinforced options stacked up against the wall for those who needed them. Unlike Shouto's middle school, the menu had been thoughtfully put together by Cook Hero: Lunch Rush. Shouto allowed his eyes to scan across it thoughtfully as the line shuffled forwards. While most of the options were white rice and side dish combos; the iron shavings and wood chip options were clearly acting as a conversation starter for the first years at the head of the line.

Clutching the sides of the lunch tray, Shouto made his way over to a table in the corner of the room. Despite the 400 Yen price tag, his meal already appeared leagues above the 700 Yen meals slapped together at his former school. He bowed head and gave a quiet thanks for the meal before reaching for his spoon.

"Hey man! Those first few classes were brutal right?" Growled Kirishima, taking a seat across from Shouto. "The food they offer here is so good though, I was standing at the front of the line for ages trying to pick between options a and b."

Shouto watched as Kirishima also bowed his head and recited thanks loud enough for him to elicit a glare from half of the cafeteria's occupants. Seemingly oblivious to the negative attention he was drawing Kirishima raised his head to resume conversation.

"So, what do you think of all the classes so far? Apparently, we have hero basic training with All Might next. Awesome right? I'm so pumped."

Shouto nodded. He had heard the rumours that All Might had recently accepted at teaching job at U.A. Being trained by the reigning symbol of peace would be an invaluable experience.

"Ah Todoroki nice to see you again. We haven't had the chance to talking since I passed out during the entrance exam. Sorry about that, is your leg okay?" Asked Midoriya through a soft smile.

Apparently Kirishima's endless yelling had also attracted some more well-meaning classmates Shouto noted, as Iida's blank face and Uraraka's grin appeared from behind Midoriya. As the trio took their seats Kirishima took the opportunity to introduce himself to them all. Shouto watched as Midoriya returned the gesture with equal enthusiasm, Iida froze up at the sudden outburst and Uraraka shied away slightly before introducing herself softly.

"Hey shitty hair, why don't you shut up?" Came an all too familiar growl from across the room. "Last time I checked this wasn't a circus, so do something about that fugly hair while you're at it!"

Midoriya flinched slightly, before relaxing once he realised the insult wasn't aimed at him. Kirishima didn't turn to face the source of the comment but dropped his volume significantly.

"Why is he like that?" Whispered Uraraka, sticking her head forwards as the others followed her cue.

"Kacchan's always been like that." Replied Midoriya softly.

"Hold up. Kacchan?! You mean to tell me that Mr. Manly Explosions has a nickname like Kacchan?" Asked Kirishima, struggling to stifle a laugh. Iida evidently shared the sentiment based on the way he was readjusting his already-aligned glasses and clearing his throat.

Shouto watched as Midoriya's eyes widened in realisation of his mistake.

"W-well we've been friends since childhood, and sometimes names stick…" Mumbled Midoriya, avoiding eye contact and fidgeting with that hem of his blazer.

He debated saying something to help the Beta with his current predicament. After all, the boy had come to his aid during the practical exam and shown more concern over his health despite sustaining worse injuries. But there was an invisible presence in his throat that refused to budge.

"Settle down." Scolded Uraraka, shooting Kirishima a disapproving glance. "I doubt any of you want him coming over here based on how he's been treating everyone."

"Indeed." Said Iida regaining his composure. "While he may not be the most polite classmate, his destructive nature and powerful quirk aren't something you want to get on the wrong side of."

"U.A. is really the best is it not?" Pondered a voice.

Separating from their huddle-like posture the group diverted their attention to the small purple-haired boy who had taken refuge behind their table. Following his gaze Shouto came to the realisation he was attempting to stare up the skirt of a black-haired girl invested in conversation with a pink-skinned girl of similar build. The duo was seated a few tables away from the group and the creep was practically salivating at the sight of their knees. Shouto was tempted to ice the floor under him in hopes of revealing his antics; but based on the number of surveillance cameras littered about it was an unnecessary risk.

"Mineta Minoru's the name." Piped the boy, blissfully ignorant to the glare Uraraka was directing at him. "The uniform really does wonders for the female form, no? It's a shame there are no Omega chicks at this school, but Betas are just as nice. I'd stay away from the Alphas if I were you though, such women are too scary for my taste."

"Looking up classmates' skirts isn't very manly." Growled Kirishima cracking his knuckles, his hands now jagged looking from his quirk. "And for your information Alpha women are just as beautiful!"

"Hey now, what's wrong with a man enjoying his youth?" Defended Mineta, hands coming up to shield his face from the barrage of saliva leaving Kirishima's mouth.

Shouto watched as Bakugo stomped his way across to the duo. The commotion had obviously pushed the boy past his anger threshold based on the way he was basically seething in his smoke cloud, small sparks already flying from his palms.

"What the hell is wrong with you shitheads?!" Came the expected onslaught of profanity.

"I-I-I was just admiring the beauty of the school." Said Mineta, trembling slightly in Kirishima's grip. "Wouldn't you agree it's a shame they don't allow Omegas to enrol?"

"Omega are the damn scum of the Earth. Now shut your mouths before I rip them off!" Snarled Bakugo before storming back to his table.

"Kirishima, do me a favour and punch him for me." Huffed Uraraka, glaring at the purple-hair boy trapped in Kirishima's headlock. "Also, what did he mean when he said Omegas weren't allowed to enrol?"

"Well while it is not explicitly stated in the official rules. U.A. rejects all Omega applicants since the high Alpha population means that an Omega in heat would cause chaos and negatively impact the quality of life of most students." Explained Iida.

Shouto could tell Midoriya was visibly shaken based on the way his hands were white from clutching his pant legs. There were tears collecting in the corners of his eyes, welling up but refusing to fall.

"Midoriya are you alright?" Asked Uraraka placing a hand on his slumped shoulder.

"I'm fine, thank you." Smiled Midoriya softly once more.

* * *

The air in the classroom was so thick with anticipation. Shouto could practically feel the stares of his classmates willing the door open. As if on cue the door was grasped by a set of fingers and flung open as the antennaed figure made his entrance, cape fluttering around him as the classroom erupted into cheers.

"I have… Come through the door, like normal!" Came the booming voice as the classroom was filled with the scattered whispers of students exchanging trivia.

Shouto was more than used to seeing All Might on television as a child, though unlike his father it was usually in the form of breaking news broadcasts. The grainy footage capturing his iconic smile casting a ghostly gleam through the clouds of smoke as he came crashing through the paths of destruction with injured survivors hoisted gently in his arms. But nothing could have prepared him for the presence the hero emitted in person. Even without the use of pheromones there was an aura about the man that instilled Shouto with as much reassurance as it did respect; it was gentle but also commanding. Completely different to the overwhelming aggression generated by his father.

"Now young ones no time to dally. Today's activity is this." Instructed the man holding out a palm card with the word "BATTLE" drawn on it vibrantly with bold marker. "Battle Training."

The topic of whispers in the classroom immediately shifted from All Might to what the class would entail.

"I believe you'll be needing these."

As All Might fell silent the left wall of the classroom clicked and whirred mechanically as shelves emerged with numbered crates. The last of the whispers died down as the air was once again made heavy with the looming feeling of anticipation. All Might grinned to the class, flexing a few of his signature poses before pulling a list out of his pocket. A few scattered whispers commenting on the sight, it seemed that Shouto was not alone in wondering where a predominantly spandex suit would hide pockets.

Each of the students rose in turn to claim their allocated crate. Designs ranged from the practical black and pale pink bodysuit Uraraka was hesitantly turning over in her hands to the questionable grenade-like gauntlets Bakugo was hauling out of his drawer. Turning back to his costume Shouto unfolded the off-white set his crate contained. Like he had specified in his design submission the pants and top were made from a temperature-resistant blend and fitted with small pieces of temperature monitoring equipment. Returning his attention to the box once more Shouto sighed inwardly at the two other included items, perhaps had had been a little hypocritical to classify Bakugo's "artistic liberties" as questionable, but U.A.'s uniform subsidy program was truly something else.

* * *

"Wow Todoroki, sick costume! Very manly." Cheered Kirishima from within the crowd of costumed students.

The red-haired Beta was now donning a pair of black army pants paired with a crimson belt featuring a prominent "R" shaped buckle. Two red, gear-shaped shoulder pads seemingly drawing attention away from the fact his costume didn't feature a shirt.

"It's simple, but it suits you." Smiled Uraraka through her pink visor as she pulled awkwardly at the snuggly fitted areas of her bodysuit. "I wish I had been more specific with the design I submitted. I just told them to make it lightweight and I ended up with this."

Shouto was tempted to ask where Iida and Midoriya were since he couldn't identify them in the crowd. But based on the way Kirishima was already immersed in the myriad of costumes and how Uraraka was still tugging at the fabric hugging her hips, he doubted they'd even hear the question over the noise of their own thoughts. Thankfully it seemed fate had taken pity on him, as a green-clad figure bounded their way over the Uraraka.

"Midoriya." Spluttered Uraraka, ceasing her fiddling immediately. "I didn't hear your name being called for a crate, what happened?"

"I forgot to submit my form." Laughed Midoriya awkwardly, his hand reaching to stroke the back of his antenna-like fabric protrusions. "So my mum helped put this together for me."

"That's so sweet." Smiled Uraraka.

"Indeed." Came a familiar voice from inside a towering suit of armour. "There is no greater honour than wearing the pride of your family while performing hero work."

"We're all here then?" Boomed the voice of All Might, turning his head away from the class after laying his eyes in Shouto's direction.

If Shouto didn't know any better, he would have thought the hero was stifling a laughing. Following his gaze, he realised his teacher's attention had been on Midoriya. Glancing at the Beta and then back at his teacher Shouto found himself smiling inwardly. Of course.

"Sir! This appears to be the same field used in the entrance exam. Will we be performing cityscape manoeuvres?" Echoed Iida's voice from inside his helmet.

"Nope! You'll be moving on to step two. Indoor anti-personnel battle training." Explained All Might. "While villain battles are most commonly seen outdoors, statistically the most heinous villains are more likely to appear indoors. You'll be split into villain teams and hero teams and face off in two-on-two indoor battles."

Shouto found himself retreating towards the back of the group as the class exploded with questions. All Might proceeded to silence them all by producing a black, plastic box labelled with "Lots".

"Listen up! Here's the deal. The villains will be hiding a nuclear weapon in the hideout and the heroes have to go and take care of it." Continued All Might, flipping through a guidebook that seemed comically small in his hands. "The heroes have a limited amount of time to either capture the villains or secure the weapon. The villains must either capture the heroes or protect the weapon until the time is up. Your battle partners will be decided by drawing lots!"

Shouto watched as his classmates were called forward greeting their respective partners with varying reactions.

"Oh man I hope I don't get paired Bakugo." Murmured Kirishima. "That Alpha's probably out for my ass after what happened at lunch. I wouldn't mind working with you at all though, with my hardening quirk and your ice quirk we'd wipe the floor with them!"

"Young Todoroki." Called All Might, grinning while gesturing to Midoriya. "Which just leaves young Kirisima and young Bakugo."

"You have got to be freakin' kidding me." Groaned Eijiro, his jaw somehow dropping despite the unorthodox metal guard adorning his face.

"Moving on, first up are… Team D are the heroes and Team H are the villain!" Announced All Might holding up two labelled spheres with the respective letters.

Shouto watched as Uraraka and Iida, presumably Team D, walked up to meet with the emerald-haired girl and crow-headed boy, presumably team H, exchanging awkward compliments regarding their costume designs. All Might handed each team a package before ushering the rest of the class down a set of stairs outside the building. The room was full of screens. Shouto guessed they would be displaying footage of his classmate's activities. A monitoring room of sorts per say.

"Watch closely and try to learn something, everyone!" Instructed All Might, scribbling down details on the sheet of paper on his clipboard. As expected of U.A. Every activity completed by students would be assigned a grade.

The static on the screens faded to display the building's interior as Uraraka entered the window of the top floor, lending a hand to assist Iida. Shouto had admire Uraraka's stratergy; choosing to infiltrate the building from the top floor instead of the first floor would make their movements less predictable. Additionally, making Iida and herself weightless would minimise the noise they emitted and add to their level of stealth. A perfect move for a recovery and containment situation.

Flicking his gaze to the monitor at the top of the array Shouto could see that the girl and her partner had decided to remain in the same room as the bomb. Playing defensively it seemed. The pair flinching as Iida burst into the room. An alternative camera displaying Uraraka as she crawled along the ceiling; Team H still preoccupied with Iida. Uraraka was now hovering over the bomb; the class empathetically holding their breaths as she reached for it.

Her fingers paused just before they could brush it. Diverting his attention to another monitor Shouto could see that the girl, or rather her tongue, was firmly wrapped around Uraraka's forearm. Jerking her head back her tongue was pulled back into her mouth throwing Uraraka to the ground in the process. Iida sensing their plans had been compromised, made an enhanced sprint towards the bomb. His movements halted by a shadow-like apparition. Upon closer inspection Shouto realised the figure was actually tethered to the raven-like boy's ankles. Most likely a form of a shadow-manipulation quirk. Both pairs regrouped, turning to face their opponents. It seemed like Uraraka and Iida had wordlessly agreed to alter than strategy to prioritise capture.

Iida began to sprint towards Team H, exhausts emitting smoke behind him. The boy summoned his shadow once more, directing it upwards to shield himself. Allowing himself to be knocked back upon impact Iida turned before revving his engines once more. Shouto could see the silhouette of Uraraka within the smoke cloud, fingers clamped tight in her signature "A" symbol. Iida went flying backwards towards the bomb, narrowly dodging the frog-like tongue as it nicked his suit, leaving a patch of moisture at the point of impact. The bomb inching towards the wall as his back made contact with it.

"Recovery successful!" Announced All Might over the loudspeaker. "Good job young heroes. Next up is Team I as the heroes and Team J as the villains."

* * *

"So, what's the plan?" Asked Midoriya, holding the building blueprints so that Shouto could read them. "Knowing Kacchan, he's probably going to come after me and leave the bomb with Kirishima, which means you're going to have to face him head on to recover it successfully."

"Our quirks are poorly suited to a stealth mission." Replied Shouto.

"Ah right." Smiled Midoriya, scratching his head through the mask of his suit.

"Capture is the best option. We should team up to fight them while they are separated."

"No. Kacchan wouldn't accept that." Smiled Midoriya softly. "I'll hold him off. He's been itching to fight me since we got here. It's time that I prove to him that I deserve to be at U.A. just as much as an Alpha."

Shouto nodded. While Midoriya didn't have the athletic build possessed by a majority of the class, he had proven more than capable during the entrance exam. He owed it to the boy. While common public opinion ruled that hero work and personal motivations should be separate worlds, Shouto found himself empathising with the Beta. He wasn't the only one seeking to prove his worth.

"Start!" Came the booming voice over the loudspeaker.


	6. Chapter 6

Midoriya and him had come to the agreement that using an ice pillar to enter the building from the top floor would be counterproductive. Constructing one would cause a notable drop in temperature and if that didn't alert their opponents then the noise definitely would. While entering through the literal front door was basically announcing their presence, at least it would mean they had all their energy conserved for the foreseeable confrontations.

The interior of the building was as dull as Shouto had expected. Inexpensive grey concrete made up the walls and floors with a few rectangular support pillars scattered about. A few rust-coloured blotches were speckled around the floor. Some were more faded, partially scrubbed away from friction or weathered away from sun exposure. Others still had red undertones in them, retaining some vibrancy against the porous surface there were adhered to, yet to be fully absorbed.

While a little unnerving, Shouto had anticipated that U.A. would allow such violent fights between its students for select classes. After all the school was aiming to prepare them for professional hero work in a mere three years; by then such brutality would be normalised. There were no rules in the real world when it came to hero-villain conflicts. Not that villains would adhere them even if there were.

* * *

"I can't believe I got paired with some brain-dead Beta!" Growled Bakugo, grinding the soles of his combat boots into the smooth concrete.

"Hey look here man, the feeling's mutual. You may be an Alpha but you're about as manly as an Omega." Huffed Kirishima, baring his shark-like teeth through his headguard.

"Just stay here and guard the bloody bomb! I'm going to blow that damn, quirkless Beta to bits!"

"I thought we were supposed to be working as a team. That's what Mr. All Might said. Some hero you are!"

"We are working as a team you shitty-haired Beta! We're the damn villains, get that through your rock of a brain!"

Kirishima watched as Bakugo exited the room leaving a cloud of explosions of smoke in his wake. Absolutely damn perfect. Knowing his luck, he'd end up fighting Todoroki one on one, get his ass handed to him and have to deal with Mr. Kacchan's "chronic PMS" in the aftermath. Sure, his hardening quirk wasn't weak by any means. It just wasn't anything special. He had his moments during the practical exam, but that was only because they were robots. There was no way Todoroki was going to come charging at him like some brainless hunk of metal. He'd seen his friend in action, he was cold, calculating and powerful. Everything Kirishima was not. Yep, he was good as dead once the icy Alpha walked through the door. Not that he'd let it show.

* * *

The duo had climbed at least five flights of stairs by now. If memory served correctly there were only three more flights until they reached the top of the building. Based on what he'd observed Shouto was beginning to think their opponents were playing defensively. But based on what the Beta had told him about Bakugo, the current situation seemed odd to say in the least. Midoriya was also beginning to seem unsettled, his head darting around frequently to seek out any source of sound.

"Come on out you damn Beta!" Came the predatory snarl followed by a violent set of explosions.

The room shook momentarily. Midoriya grabbed Shouto's wrist, dragging him up the stairs as the ceiling began to crumble above them. A mild orange light illuminating the jagged silhouette from within the dust the explosions had kicked up. Shouto staggered forwards as Midoriya gently shoved him upwards onto the next floor. He nodded affirmitively at Shouto before heading back down the stairs; the same look of determination adorning his face once more.

Shouto was tempted to grab the boy's arm. He knew that Bakugo's quirk was destructive, but his display was excessive for a training exercise. All Might had instructed them to fight each other, but Bakugo's aggression went beyond that. The Alpha was out for blood, and based on his nature he wouldn't stop until he got it. Shouto found himself exhaling a cloud of frost. No. He had underestimated the Beta before, he wouldn't make the same mistake twice. Midoriya knew what he was getting himself into and had gone willingly. He owed it to the boy. The plan was for him to recover and contain the bomb; and that was exactly what he was going to do.

* * *

"Where are you, you damn nerd?!" Yelled Bakugo, his hands half-clenched into fists and already sparking in preparation to set off more explosions.

"Kacchan." Said Midoriya, emerging from the cloud of dust to greet the figure. His steps firm, yet delicate on the shattered fragments of what had once been the ceiling.

"I bet you think you're so damn smart don't cha?! So, it seems you're not so quirkless after all! You were trying to trick me, weren't you?! This is my dream and I refuse to have it taken from me by some damn quirkless Beta!"

"I wasn't trying to trick you!" Responded Midoriya, raising his gaze to challenge Bakugo's glare.

"SHADDUP!"

Midoriya raised his arms just in time to catch Bakugo's right forearm, mid-punch, before it could make contact with his cheek. He'd observed his friend since middle school, carefully taking notes on his fighting style after every fight they'd had. Bakugo had always started with his signature right hook. Placing the weight of the Alpha on his knees, Midoriya aggressively hoisted him up, slamming him down onto the concrete with an audible thud. Wincing slightly at the noise, Midoriya lowered himself into a defensive stance. Based on past experience Bakugo would always follow up his right hook with an uppercut.

"Oh, so you think you're too good for me now do ya?! Not worth using your quirk on huh?!" Growled the boy, getting to his feet. There was significant grazing along his right arm where it had dragged along the serrated pieces of concrete and a few minor cuts littered around his right shoulder.

Midoriya readied himself for Bakugo's second punch, but it never came. Instead he found himself being thrown backwards as mustard-coloured flames filled his vision. He coughed, half-choking, as his head and back slammed against a support pillar. A familiar metallic tang filled his mouth as his vision blurred hazily in and out of focus. Through his strained blinking and the disorientating ringing in his ears he could make out the Bakugo's haughty commentary.

"So waddaya think?! I had them custom made to store my sweat and maximise my explosions!" Laughed the boy, pushing the grenade pin back into his right gauntlet with an audible click. "You should feel honoured! After all you are the first person I've used them on! Come on, use your quirk you damn Beta!"

Midoriya attempted to refocus his vision, the monotonous grey of the room serving only to disorientate him further. Using the support pillar behind him as a crutch he weakly stumbled to his feet. He raised his gaze to meet Bakugo's. The boy snorted at the display, malice filling his eyes as he threw another punch. Midoriya flinched as pain echoed through his cheek, a heavy wetness accompanying the cooling sensation of the concrete on his face. A similar sensation filled his ribs as the steel toe of Bakugo's combat boot dug into them.

Midoriya closed his eyes and steadied his breathing. The aggressive throbs of pain dulling slightly as a familiar electric hum filled his right hand. He wrapped his fingers around Bakugo's ankle before the Alpha could retract his foot. A crack resounding as Midoriya tightened his grip.

"You damn Beta!" Growled Bakugo, stumbling backwards out of Midoriya's grasp. The blonde-haired boy was now leaning on his left foot, the fabric of his right combat boot badly scuffed where Midoriya's fingers had once been.

Placing his palms against the shattered concrete, Midoriya forced his weight onto them, shakily coming to his feet once more. His right fingers now donning the familiar shade of burgundy. He allowed them to rest at his side as the rest of his body adopted an offensive stance.

"Kacchan. I never wanted to trick you. I've always looked up to you because of your power. That's the reason I'm here, and it's the reason my goal is to surpass you!" Declared Midoriya, the flickering, emerald bolts now encasing his left arm.

"You're going to regret that shitty Deku! Like hell I'm going to let a quirkless Beta surpass me!" Growled Bakugo, his left hand forming a claw and sparking violently. "Before I was only going to blow you to bits, but now I'm going to have fun tearing you to pieces with my bare hands!"

* * *

Shouto paused his climbing as the building rattled violently. As expected, the situation between his partner and their friend had escalated considerably. This was bad. At this rate the whole building could come crashing down, not only costing them the mission, but also jeopardizing their safety. He needed to recover the bomb and fast.

Focusing on what little moisture remained in the air after the repeated explosions, he raised his right hand, a pillar of ice appearing beneath his feet. Jumping up onto the final story he placed his right hand on the floor once more. All the smoke in the air was making it increasingly difficult to locate any water molecules, and Shouto found a cold sweat forming on his brow before he even managed to glaze the floor in a thin sheet of ice. His focus breaking as another set of explosions caused tremors in the floor, cracking what little ice had formed. Shouto pulled up his shirt collar, covering his mouth and nose as the air grew drier and the smell of nitro-glycerine thickened. He made his way down the corridor on foot, while less efficient than his usual method, it was pointless to waste energy sprinting.

The corridor was the same slate-grey concrete as the rest of the interior. However, compared to the ground floor it was essentially pristine; the only markings on it being the white scrapes of mortar used in the initial construction. Shouto attributed the dryness of the air to lack of ventilation, as although the corridor was long and periodically branched off into dead-end rooms, there were no windows or skylight. The only lighting came from the dully humming fluorescent tubes huddled together in sets along the ceiling. It appeared as though U.A. was attempting to emulate an abandoned warehouse rather than a city apartment block as he had initially thought. While it made little difference to the strategy he and Midoriya had agreed on, he had to respect the academy's attention to detail.

Reaching the end of the corridor Shouto readjusted his collar to its original position. While the concentration of moisture in the air was still too low for his quirk to be effective, the spacious nature of the room meant the lingering smell of explosives was less dominant.

"So ya finally made it huh?" Came Kirishima's voice, his bored undertone evident. "I was worried Bakugo got to you first. Wouldn't be fair if he had all the fun now would it?"

Shouto responded with a curt nod, his gaze fully focused on the Beta. His skin was serrated, and his fingers had merged together to form crude stone-like blades. It seemed as though his opponent had failed to realise how detrimental the current air conditions were to his quirk. Shouto violently jerked his body to the left, his left foot neatly following through as he stepped to the side; Kirishima's blade falling just short of his face. Huffing the Beta lunged forwards once again; Shouto responding by jumping backwards out of reach. Kirishima was deceptively fast even in this form; and dodging was only pushing him further away from his objective. He took a moment to monitor the air quality. Still too dry. Freezing the floor would be his best shot at incapacitating Kirishima based on his linear attack patterns; but it wasn't a viable strategy in such conditions. Given the circumstances, the best plan of attack would be capturing Kirishima. All he had to do was bait out an attack. Given his opponent's aggressive nature it wouldn't prove too difficult.

Stepping out of Kirishima's range once more, Shouto fished the carbon-nanofiber ribbon out of his pocket, keeping it concealed within his clenched fist. He watched as the Beta charged at him, rapidly jabbing forward with his blade-like hands. Shouto ducked, a viscous fluid running down his left cheek where Kirishima's hand had clipped him. Lowering himself against the floor, Shouto swept his right leg at the Beta's forward-leaning foot. Despite his hardened state, there were obvious flaws in his stance. It seemed as though his opponent had to expend too much focus maintaining his quirk to maintain a stable footing. As Kirishima staggered backwards, the weight of his form now awkward to manage, Shouto clutched each end of the ribbon, stretching it out to trip Kirishima's right ankle.

"You have been captured. Stand down." Stated Shouto, double knotting the ribbon with a tug.

"Dammit!" Groaned Kirishima, his hands reverting back to their original state. "I mean I knew you were an Alpha but beating me without even using your quirk cuts deep man!"

Shouto was tempted to tell his classmate that he decision to fight without the use of his quirk was out of necessity, not an attempt to patronise the boy. Though he doubted that Kirishima would believe him based on the way he was punching the wall he was leaning against. He made his way over to the bomb, the echo of his feet against the concrete seeming all too loud amongst the muffled explosions and Kirishima's dejected display.

"Recovery successful!" Came the static voice of All Might, as Shouto pressed his hand against the prop and the muffled explosions came to an end.

* * *

"What were you thinking letting those two boys go at one another like this?!" Huffed Recovery Girl, her disapproving glance falling to All Might. "Thank you for helping the team find them under all that rubble, Kirishima. Without your help the process would have been considerably more difficult. You too Todoroki. Have some PEZ both of you."

Shouto held out his hand to accept the brick-like candy. Kirishima mirroring his actions with more enthusiasm, his signature shark-toothed grin plastered on his face. Looking over his shoulder Shouto could see Midoriya, the dusty blue of his hospital gown peeking out from beneath the sheets of his hospital bed. The bulky silhouette of a right leg cast was also visible, both of his arms were in similar condition. Patches of medical dressing were also scattered about his face and collar bones, the mild translucency allowing some of the red undertones to seep through to the surface. The peaceful sleeping face of the boy seemed almost unsettling when paired with the oxygen mask loosely hooked around his ears.

Bakugo was in the bed to Midoriya's left, a weary version of his regular scowl donning his face. His right leg was encased in some bandages, along with a majority of his left arm but they paled in comparison to the decorations of his "would-be victim".

* * *

"Hey man, glad to see you're awake. How ya feelin'? You were a lot worse when I dug ya out. Glad to see Mrs. Recovery Girl managed to put ya back together alright." Jeered Kirishima, making his way over to the Alpha.

"What the hell do you want?!" Spat Bakugo, his unbandaged hand sparking threateningly. "I gave you one job you shitty-haired Beta and you still managed to screw it up!"

"Hey look here, I have no intention of getting all buddy-buddy with ya either. You're a massive scumbag and you know it. I just want to know how ya did it, that's all."

"Did what you brain-dead Beta?!"

"Did that." Explained Kirishima, gesturing absently at Midoriya. "I mean I'm no mastermind and Todoroki kicked my ass to the curb without even using his quirk but-."

"Wow you really are a shitty Beta huh?" Scoffed Bakugo. "I mean if you got beaten that badly by that half-and-half bastard you're really not worth my damn time."

"Now hold on a sec. I want to know how ya do it. How ya take down someone with a flashy quirk without some master plan or something fancy like that."

"You really weren't paying attention when I said you weren't worth my time huh?! Grow a brain shitty hair, then maybe I'll consider listening to your mindless blabbering!"

"Fine. I'll prove to you that I'm worth your time, in the name of my honour as a man!"

* * *

Shouto watched as Recovery girl made her way over to the duo, shushing both of them before their tense conversation could escalate into yet another fight, and create yet more work for the poor lady. Kirishima laughing awkwardly and bowing his head in apology as Bakugo's scowl darkened. His attention suddenly diverted from the group as the ward doors flung inwards to the sight of a flushed and panting Uraraka, still in her bodysuit and Iida, who had removed the helmet of his suit and was now carrying it under his right arm.

"Sorry, we got here as soon as we could. After Mr. All Might left, Mr. Aizawa took over and wouldn't let us leave." Explained Uraraka through staggered breaths. "Is Midoriya alright? Iida and I saw the fight over surveillance and panicked when Bakugo's explosion took out the main camera."

"Bakugo seemed unnecessarily aggressive towards Midoriya. So, when we heard he'd been taken to the school hospital we thought it would be wise to visit." Stated Iida, his posture as stiff as ever despite the sweat that was collecting along his brow.

"Hey guys!" Greeted Kirishima, bounding over to meet the duo. "Don't worry, lil' guy put up quite a fight against Bakugo but he'll be alright. Mrs. Recovery Girl didn't use her quirk on him which is the main reason he looks so roughed up."

Shouto nodded in agreement, Iida and Uraraka letting out a joint sigh of relief in response.

"Oh hello, you must be friends hoping to pay a visit." Said Recovery girl, her maternal voice filling the room as she made her way over to the group. "As you can see Midoriya is quite injured so if you wish to visit him it will have to be one at a time."

"You should go first Todoroki." Offered Uraraka. "After all you were his partner for the exercise, if he wants to talk to anyone in his current state, I think it'd be you."

"Indeed." Reaffirmed Iida. "You were his partner in battle, it's only fair you get to go first."

"Go ahead man." Awkwardly laughed Kirishima. "I think I'd rather stay away from that dickhead Alpha in the corner right about now. I'll check up on Midoriya when he gets let out. Tell him I said 'hi' will ya?."

As the rest of the group made their way back out the doors to the row of chairs lining the corridor, Shouto wanted to tell Uraraka that she should be the first to visit the boy. After all the two seemed closest from what he observed, and while he wasn't exactly a stranger to the boy, he had been in the ward for almost an hour with Kirishima. He'd had plenty of opportunities to send the boy his regards, if anything he suspected that Midoriya would rather see Uraraka first once he woke up.

Not wanting to be rude, Shouto made his way over to Midoriya's bed.

"Hey." Said Midoriya, feebly opening his eyes, his soft breaths forming small clouds of condensation on the interior of the mask.

Shouto found it difficult to maintain eye contact despite holding the dominant position, another unbudging lump found its way into his throat, erasing the words before they could form on his tongue. It was essentially his fault Midoriya was in this condition to begin with. If he had stopped the boy from going after Bakugo or just joined the fight, the extent of the damage would have been significantly lessened.

"Thank you. For believing in me." Continued Midoriya weakly, his eyes drifted closed once more before Shouto had the chance to reply.


	7. Chapter 7

"Is it alright if we visit again tomorrow?" Asked Iida, turning to face Recovery Girl.

"Of course dear, but he's progressing well so I might be able to use my quirk on him soon." Replied Recovery Girl, her voice overflowing with warmth. "Now Bakugo, I'm letting you leave early since it's only your first day and I don't want you falling behind. Please don't abuse my trust. Remember, no strenuous activities for the rest of the day. That means no using your quirk. If you fail to follow my advice and end up here again, I will not use my quirk on you, and you will have to heal naturally."

She watched as Iida guided Bakugo to the door and held it open for him as they left, paying close mind to keep his distance from the foul-tempered boy. Something akin to "stupid old hag" left the blonde Alpha's lips in the form of a mumble, as Iida sent an apologetic look over his shoulder. Recovery Girl tutted, waving at them once more as the door swung shut.

"So, how long are you going to stay in there?" She asked, as a scrawny figure emerged from behind her office door. "Toshinori, I know you want to keep this side of you hidden, and understandably so. But I can't say that hiding in plain sight of your students is the best course of action if you wish to keep things that way. In all seriousness though, what were you thinking letting this Omega take on that Alpha boy with a Gamma's quirk?"

"Young Midoriya and young Bakugo needed to fight in order to reach an understanding. It was necessary for their growth as heroes." Came the raspy voice, as All Might sat down on the chair facing Midoriya's bed.

"I know you care about this Omega, Toshinori. But lying about his status on his enrolment papers and hiding it from the rest of the school board was excessive, even for you. I trust your judgement, but how long do you plan to keep this up? It's biologically impossible for an Omega's body to handle that much power, so why this boy?"

"Chiyo, please. I didn't think much of this boy myself when he interrupted my hero work but- "

"He reminded you of yourself when you were young."

"Yes."

"You know even possessing One for All was a stretch for you as a Beta. Yet you chose an Omega as your successor? Toshinori, I know you're the sentimental sort, but we have to be realistic here. If he continues using One for All, it's going to destroy his body to the point that if I use my quirk on him again, he'll die. I have always stood by your decisions, but I fear for his safety as his school nurse."

"The best professional heroes have always been Alphas. No. Rather the most powerful Alphas have always been forced to become the best professional heroes. Occasionally a Beta will take the stage before slipping into obscurity, but the door has always been completely closed for Omegas. It's time for things to change."

"Alright Toshinori but promise me you won't let him do this to himself again."

* * *

Although Kirishima continued to fill the room with the sound of his motivational chants on "manliness", Iida stood up repeated to enforce the rules upon unruly classmates and Uraraka wished everyone a "good morning" as they walked through the door; something was lacking from the classroom's normal chaotic atmosphere. Shouto found his gaze drift to the empty window seat located two rows in front of him. Unlike his seat, it was centred between two windows in such a manner that the only scenery it offered was the static white of the classroom walls. It was dimly lit, being furthest away from any of the overhanging lights. Yet it seemed even more unappealing when void of a student.

As expected, the blonde-haired Alpha was apathetically lounging at his desk, the heels of his sneakers firmly rooted into the pencil groove, the chair creaking under his weight as he rocked back and forth. All evidence of yesterday's fight gone from his body. An unfamiliar weight wormed its way into Shouto's stomach, clawing its way upwards into his lungs. For some reason that Shouto could not comprehend, the thought of the Bakugo's chair giving in to the strain on its back legs eased the unknown feeling within him. All he had to do was freeze two quarter-sized patches under the already unstable seat. By the time Bakugo fell the ice would have already melted from the friction. Any remaining water would be spread too thinly against the linoleum to serve as sufficient evidence. He wouldn't suffer major injuries. Shouto would make sure of that. No, he'd just dislocate one of his shoulders. Just enough for him to be sent back to Recovery Girl's office, and back into a hospital bed.

"Good morning class, settle down." Groaned Eraser Head as he shuffled his way to the front of the class, slamming down a pile of papers with an audible thud. "I've looked over your grades and evaluations. Bakugo, grow up already, you have talent so stop wasting it on settling personal issues. Eijiro, work on the basics before you rush into a one on one fight. Shouto, good job."

Shouto continued to stare idly at the empty seat as Mr Aizawa continued to read off student evaluations. The praise he received seemed out of place given the outcome of yesterday's training. He'd failed to protect his partner and even the easiest of villains would be more difficult to take down than Eijiro at his current skill level. If anything, he'd performed the worst out of all of them. He'd failed to utilise his quirk effectively and to avoid detection.

"Sorry I'm late Mr Aizawa, Mrs Recovery Girl wanted to perform some last-minute check-ups on me before I left." Said Midoriya, appearing in the door. His face flushed and sweat beading across his forehead.

"Fine. Take your seat. Oh, and Midoriya, learn to control your quirk better next time, you somehow managed to break your hand twice within the span of 24 hours. If you want to become a professional hero in three years, you're going to have to perform better than a five-year-old Beta whose quirk just materialised."

Shouto watched as Midoriya scrambled to his seat awkwardly, his file held up against his head as a crude shield against the lingering stares of 1-A. The weight in his throat slowly dissolved into a mild hollow hum, as his gaze flickered over the boy questioningly. The raw power of his quirk and calculating fighting style was thrown completely off balance by his timid demeanour. An emitter-type quirk of that level could easily surpass his own if utilised correctly; but it seemed that the boy was incapable of that. Based on what Shouto has seen Midoriya's quirk did just as much damage to him, if not more, than what would be sustained from an opponent. It was odd. Quirk repercussions were not unheard of, but they weren't normally that severe. Shouto himself would suffer frostbite if he overexerted himself, or heat exhaustion if he used his cursed left side. But that was only if he used his quirk continuously for hours on end. Mere activation would never cause such self-destruction. Not to mention Midoriya's behaviour. An individual with that much raw power would normally possess the sheer arrogance of Bakugo or a calm and collected approach. He had no reason to be as nonsensically expressive and panicked as he was on the battlefield.

For the first time since his father's gruelling training regimens, Shouto found himself preoccupied with an individual. There was something about Midoriya that reminded him of his childhood idol, despite his contradictory qualities. Even if the characteristics in question escaped him, he'd figure out what eventually.

"Now that's out of the way, you lot have to elect a class president." Explained Eraser Head in a half-groan. "You can decide amongst yourself however you wish, just get it done quickly. I don't have all day."

"Hey I'll be ya class prez!" Announced Kirishima.

"Can it shitty hair!" Hissed Bakugo. "We should fight to see you gets to be class prez, after all it's the strong who lead the weak!"

"Excuse me, if I could have your attention please." Said Iida, standing up from his seat, palms firmly planted on the laminate finish of his desk. "I believe an election would be the most efficient way of deciding. I'll hand out small scraps of paper to each of you and you can write down the name of the student you think is best for the position."

"Won't people just vote for themselves then?"

"Yeah, sounds like a freakin' stupid system to me four eyes!"

"Well if you two would give me a minute to explain that you can't vote for yourselves then you'll find that your question has been answered."

"Sounds like a good idea to me." Said Uraraka, ripping strips of paper out of her notebook with the standard U.A.-issued ruler. "Here you go Iida."

"Thank you Uraraka. Now if you would like to be considered for the position please raise your hand so I can list the candidates on the whiteboard."

Shouto watched as a sea of hands immediately flew into the air. At least his unraised hand would go unnoticed among the horde of eager students. There was something subtly humorous about Iida's actions. Despite effortlessly taking charge of the class and suggesting the ideal method, the Alpha hadn't written his name among the potential candidates. Shouto was unsure if he was deliberately downplaying his abilities in order to avoid appearing arrogant given his elite background; or simply too dedicated to the task at hand to realise. Either way, Iida had just proven to him that he was perfect for the role. Hopefully a fellow classmate would share the sentiment and notify the black-haired Alpha.

* * *

"I am pleased to announce that your new class president is Uraraka Ochacho." Said Eraser Head with the collective enthusiasm of a funeral parlour, throwing the ballots back into the box dismissively. "Here is your badge, wear it appropriately."

"Thank you, Mr Aizawa and to everyone who voted to me." Responded Uraraka, cupping her hands to accept the badge. "But I can't accept this position."

Based on his experience from middle school, Shouto would have guessed this would be the time when the class reacted with collective shock. Instead there was an eerie silence with a select few individuals expressing complete disinterest.

"I appreciate the votes, but I'm really not qualified." She continued. "If anyone should have this position it's Iida. He was the one who suggested this idea and kept everyone calm and focused while he explained the process."

"Uraraka…" Replied Iida, his words trailing off as his straightened his back, returning to his default sitting position.

"Right on!" Cheered Kirishima. "If I hadda pick anyone besides myself then it'd definitely be you man."

"Yep, Iida handled the situation perfectly." Agreed Midoriya, throwing a "thumbs up" gesture in Iida's direction.

"Iida you shouldn't put yourself down like that." Sighed Uraraka. "Mr Aizawa is it alright for me to stand down?"

"Sure." Said Eraser Head, shrugging off the question as he scratched the bridge of his nose.

"Congratulations class president." Smiled Uraraka, placing the badge gently into Iida's hand and ushering his fingers closed around it.

"Thank you." Replied Iida, avoiding eye contact and straightening his glasses. "I promise I will do my best to uphold the honour of class 1-A as your class president."

"Now that's out of the way." Groaned Eraser Head. "You all need to go to the Unforeseen Simulation Joint for rescue training with Thirteen. Try to be on time."

Shouto watched as the man trudged out of the classroom. Kirishima, Uraraka and Midoriya were swarming Iida was congratulatory praise, which the Alpha was awkwardly brushing off. Although he was unsure of how to word his sentiments, Shouto was happy for Iida. So, he settled for a brief smile once the Alpha looked his way.

* * *

The Unforeseen Simulation Join was separate from a majority of the campus. A stadium-like building featuring a reflective glass-dome roof and purple accept pillars adorned the exterior, with a large cerulean gate marking the entrance. As the class made their way down the stairs into the central plaza, Shouto allowed himself to admire the various areas the zone boasted. Directly left of the stairs was an amalgamation of crumbled apartment buildings in the centre of a lush forest. Most likely a replica of a post-earthquake city block; a common scene for many rescue missions. To his right was a smaller, blue glass-dome with azure support beams outlining the exterior. The tinting made it impossible to fully see the interior, but the shadows of violent clouds lead Shouto to believe it was a zone simulating extreme weather conditions related to storms and the like. Shouto could make out four other main areas, one boasting mountain-like structures, another glass-dome that blazed with seething red shadows, an area encased entirely in sand and something akin to a water theme park.

"Hello there, you must be class 1-A. Pleased to meet you all. I'm Space Hero: Thirteen, but more importantly I'll be your teacher in today's exercises where you'll be learning the ins and outs of this facility." Came the hollow sounding voice, accompanied by periodic artificial breathing. "As you know, being a hero isn't just about defeating villains. Rescue work is just as important. Some of you might even discover that your quirk is perfectly suited to the field and choose to pursue it full time in the future."

Thirteen was clad entirely in a white standard-issue space suit, albeit an altered version made up of a bulky jacket and three-quarter pants, allowing their clothed ankles to remain visible. They wore a helmet with a heavily tinted dome that ended where Shouto would estimate their nose was. Two large white circles were reflected from within and shifted shape expressively as they spoke in a similar fashion to eyes. Where the dome ended, a large aluminium guard sealed and reinforced the helmet. Shouto guessed there was either a voice modifier or artificial respirator encased within it, attributing to the voice distortion of the individual.

"For example, my quirk, Black Hole, proved extremely useful during the mass flooding last year by allowing me to simultaneously retrieve civilians and clean up the wreckage." Continued Thirteen. "Such work may not be as flashy as the frequently reported arrests, but there are some things in this world that are more valuable than fame. I do hope some of you discover an unknown passion for rescue work today."

"Pardon me… Professional Hero Thirteen." Iida trailed off awkwardly, hand still raised.

"There's no need to be so formal, just Thirteen is fine." Assured Thirteen, the two reflections softening from behind their helmet.

"Yes, Thirteen. If you will excuse me, I was curious to know what exercises we will be performing today."

"Well I'm sure you all attended your basic hero training class with All Might yesterday. Today's activities will be carried out in a similar fashion. You will each be placed in a team of four and assigned to one of the six available zones. In each zone there is a faux civilian you need to rescue. Upon rescuing them you must provide them with basic medical attention using natural resources in the zone and any medical supplies you carry with you in your hero costumes. Please form the same groups you were assigned yesterday, and then line up to be randomly placed in your respective zone."

* * *

"I can't believe I have to work you goddamn extras again!" Said Bakugo, eyes fixed in his signature glare.

"Kacchan-" Started Midoriya, a tinge of sadness laced his voice.

"Don't you dare call me by that freakin' name shitty Deku!"

"Oh come on Kaa-chan." Mocked Kirishima, snickering behind his shark-toothed grin.

"Shaddup goddamn shitty hair."

Shouto trailed his fingers along the wooden planks of the waiting room bench as the two Betas continually failed to coax any form of cooperation out of Bakugo. Thirteen had assigned them to the downpour zone, an area which an explosion-based quirk would be seriously disadvantaged. Looking out across the raindrop-stained glass he could see the silhouettes of a city block as they were briefly illuminated by the periodic lightning flashes. The faux civilian was most likely trapped in one of the buildings, that was typically what people did to avoid the floods that resulted from heavy rain.

"Ah good to see you're all ready to go." Came the raspy voice of Thirteen. "Please follow me to the zone entrance. Feel free to do any last-minute check of your supplies and equipment. While the safety of others is important, as heroes we must remember to guarantee our own safety before rushing into dangerous situations."

Reaching for the hidden waist-pouch obscured by his shirt, Shouto did a brief mental check. Medical dressing, a roll of bandages, wound disinfectant, water purifying capsules and a sheet of pain killer tablets. Just enough to keep any patients in a stable condition until paramedics arrived. His sister had also insisted he carry an omega heat suppressant with him despite being a Gamma, so he did out of respect.

Following her graduation Fuyumi had accepted work at one of the top medical research labs in the country and was one of the leaders in Omega heat suppressant development. As expected, their father had completely shunned her following her career choice. Accusing her of wasting her talents on an inferior status and rejecting her rightful career as a professional hero. While Shouto had never cared much about the controversy surrounding Omegas, being completely unaffected by their monthly heats, he could understand the practicality behind carrying heat suppressants on his person. Statistically speaking a majority of civilians rescued by heroes were Omegas, as their weak or non-existent quirks made it more difficult for them to avoid dangerous situations. Not to mention Fuyumi was only too happy to grant him with a continuous supply in the form of small monthly care packages once she heard about his enrolment in U.A.

"Is everyone ready to go?" Asked Thirteen.

Their question was met with unanimous agreement.

"Alright, now before I let you in please be aware that while these conditions are simulated, the danger of them is very real. While we will not lower the severity of conditions to make the exercise easier in your favour, if any of you at any time enter a life-threatening state, we will shut off the simulation. Please be careful, and good luck."

* * *

"We should figure out where our target is first." Suggested Midoriya, his waterlogged combat boots sloshing around in the semi-flooded streets.

"And how the hell do you suggest we do that?!" Hissed Bakugo, his scowl finding its way to Midoriya

"W-w-well we could…"

"Exactly, you have no idea what the hell you're doing so just shaddup, shitty Deku."

"Hey man, stop being such a dick. Unless you have any better ideas." Said Kirishima challenging Bakugo's glare, patting Midoriya on the back in a comforting gesture.

"Well I don't suppose you have any ideas either goddamn shitty hair!"

Shouto continued to stroll down the street, the calming sound of rain filling his ears along with the escalating conflict between his group. The zone was filled with the same repeating rectangular, concrete structures to the point of almost being disorientating. Finding a single target in such conditions would be nearly impossible without a tracking-type quirk. A few buildings could be rules out since they were either completely collapsed or had their entrances completely blocked off from the surrounding wreckage; but that still left too many possibilities.

"We should split up." Stated Shouto, turning around to face the rest of his group. "There are too many places to cover with a single group."

"Good idea." Agreed Midoriya. "We just need to send a signal to the other group if we find them or visa-versa."

"Sounds good to me man." Started Kirishima, before pausing awkwardly upon making eye contact with the fuming Alpha behind him.

"Fine! Whatever gets us out of this pissing rain!" Huffed Bakugo. "I ain't working with shitty Deku or shitty hair, so I guess it'll have to be you, half-and-half bastard."

"Actually… I think you'll have to work with Kirishima. Todoroki and you are the only two with emitter-type quirks noticeable enough in all this rain so you can't be on the same team." Explained Midoriya, shying away from the Alpha's murderous gaze.

Shouto nodded in agreement. While he felt bad for Kirishima being forced to work with Bakugo twice in such a short span of time, at least Bakugo wouldn't try to put him six feet under. The thought of leaving Midoriya with the Alpha again given yesterday's events put a stiff dryness at the back of his throat.

"It's alright Midoriya, don't worry 'bout it. I'll do my best 'ta handle him 'kay." Reassured Kirishima, raising his clenched fist in front of him.

"I guess that means we'll be working together again then." Stated Midoriya, turning to face Shouto. "So where should we start looking?"


	8. Chapter 8

"Why do ya hate Midoriya so much? I mean it's not like he did anything to ya." Asked Kirishima, trailing along behind Bakugo.

"None of ya goddamn business! That's why!" The Alpha replied, turning around suddenly to cast a threatening look at the red-haired Beta.

"Kay man, calm ya tits."

"What the hell did you just say to me you braindead Beta?!"

"Calm ya tits. It's just a saying, no need to get all riled up 'bout it."

Kirishima flinched as the Alpha's callused palm stopped an inch short of hitting his nose. The explosive rage in Bakugo's eyes as ignited as ever.

"Listen here you shitty excuse for a Beta! You're damn lucky I can't do shit in this rain, otherwise U.A. would have an open enrolment spot on their hands!"

Kirishima exhaled as the hand was retracted and the Alpha's attention directed elsewhere. The Beta's red combat boots dragging through the puddles scattered about the floor of the building. It was more or less the same as the room he'd been forced to stay in yesterday while he was babysitting the bomb. U.A. was impressive, but it wasn't exactly creative in the building department. The mass of concrete buildings strewn about in the rain all looked the damn same to him. How the hell did U.A. expect anything, let alone anyone in this damn mess.

"Goddammit!" Hissed Bakugo.

Startled by the sudden noise, Kirishima turned to locate its source. It seemed as though the asshole Alpha had found his next victim in the form of a fallen street sign barring off the entrance to one of rooms.

"This shitty rain!"

The profanity was followed with muffled metallic clinking as Kirishima watched the Alpha throw sloppy, frustrated punches at the pole. Recoiling his hands and cussing after each strike. The clinking growing louder as the hands were progressively replaced with angered stomps and the metal pads of Bakugo's combat boots were embellished with self-inflicted dents."

"What's ya deal man?" Snorted Kirishima, walking over to the pole. "Ya sure I'm the braindead one here?"

Inhaling deeply, Kirishima straightened his hand, clamping his fingers together. The increased pressure around his chin and cheeks where they met his metal headguard only serving to widen the signature smirk slapped on his face. A familiar sense of accomplishment filled him as he felt the feeling in his fingers merge into a single entity.

"Ya might wanna move. As much as I hate your explosive ass, I don't wanna deal with Mr Aizawa if ya lose a finger." Suggested Kirishima, a slight sense of concern lacing his words.

Something akin to a grunt left Bakugo's mouth, as the Alpha's kicks slowed. His foot now resting on the pole in a half-stomp, his glare downcast in an expression that was half anger and half something that Kirishima couldn't quite figure out.

Making his way over to the beam, Kirishima nudged Bakugo out of the way, playing the gesture off as just his shoulder pads leaning at an awkward angle. Raising his blade-like hand he brought it down swiftly onto the metal, steadying his breathing to ensure his hand remained in a hardened state.

Cutting things was always the worst. Soft materials like human flesh, as gross as it was, and the occasional food item, even those stupid-ass indestructible plastic pouches his favourite snacks came in had never proved much trouble. Giving people a few scrapes here and there as warning shots had never been much of a hassle. Hell, he'd even given himself one accidentally when his quirk awakened as a child. How lame. Alphas never had this problem, they were basically masters of their quirks from the moment they materialised. If an Alpha had his quirk, they'd definitely be able to cut through rocks, metal and God knows what else effortlessly. They wouldn't have to stand there; still, focused and regulating their breathing like they were wielding Cloud's Buster Sword with a bad back.

"Are you done wasting my damn time yet you shitty Beta?!" Hissed Bakugo, the aggressiveness in his glare flaring up once again.

Kirishima flinched, he felt his fingers slowly unfuse as the roughened skin of his hand smoothed back to their regular state. Dammit, Alphas never had this problem maintaining focus. Shitty Beta genes.

"Hey look, I get it alright. I ain't doin' much, but at least I'm doing something!" Groaned Kirishima, baring his teeth.

"Ya really think I'd let some damn Beta look down on me if I could use my damn quirk right now?!"

"Look down on you? Look 'ere man, if anyone's looking down on someone it's you."

"Just move shitty hair, before I make you!"

* * *

"I hope Kirishima's alright. Bakugo's not exactly the friendly sort." Said Midoriya, his usual timid tone lacing his voice.

"I'm sure he's fine." Reassured Shouto.

That was what people generally said in such situations. Wasn't it? He assumed that the more upbeat nature of the Beta's steps was sufficient evidence.

So far, they'd only checked the buildings with unblocked entrances. Shouto knew his fire-based quirk wouldn't be very effective in all the rain, and concrete was too dense to be effectively compressed by any of his ice-based attacks. Midoriya had also been reluctant to use his quirk, not that Shouto could blame him. After all, the Beta had been in hospital less than 24 hours ago.

The last time Shouto had been hospitalised was in the aftermath of one of his "less pleasant" childhood training sessions. His father had come home from one of his television interviews with Present Mic, fuming about All Might as always and demanded Shouto's presence. He'd been grabbed by the collar of his polo shirt, the strangling sensation around his neck only relieved by the bruising of his cheek as his face was thrown against the coarsened floor of the "training room". The walls were all insulated to prevent the rest of the house from overheating as his father engulfed himself in flames, ordering Shouto to do the same. This particular session from Shouto's childhood had not been such a session unfortunately, but rather a sparring lesson. Despite taking place over eight years ago, the numbing pain of his father's punches as they were thrown at his ribs resonated within him along with the memory. No matter how much he had feebly re-established his childish block his father had continued to break through it, leaving his arms bruised and eventually broken. Eventually his body had been filled with the feeling of crackling static, and his throat with overwhelming nausea. Then nothing.

"Todoroki, did Thirteen mention any form of signalling from the faux citizens?" Asked Midoriya.

Shouto lifted his gaze to meet the Beta's, who immediately flicked his to the wall.

"I don't think so?"

"Well there are some odd markings on the side of the building. I can't see clearly from here, but they're too dark to be caused from the rainfall. Should we take a close look?"

"Sure."

* * *

"Ey Bakugo, I think Todoroki and the lil' guy found something." Suggested Kirishima, admiring the newly formed wall of ice.

"Trust shitty Deku to make me look bad!" Spat Bakugo, flinging his arm against the wall he was leaning against, lightly denting the rim of his gauntlet in the process.

"Can we just go already? At this point I want to be out of this damn rain as much as you in case ya didn't notice!"

Not waiting for Bakugo to reply, Kirishima broke into a sprint. Water splashing up around him as the clouds continued to rain down against the pavement. As much as he'd hate to admit it, the damn Alpha had gotten to him. He knew it'd happen; he just didn't know it'd make him feel this shit. The past half an hour had been filled with nothing except the Alpha's continual ranting. God damn him if he knew how the asshole's throat wasn't burning from it all. Sure, he'd been forced to work with him from the whole villain training thing with All Might. But he hadn't been forced to follow him around continually. Looking back on things he was rather thankful the Alpha had insisted on going his own way.

Kirishima's sprint slowed to a jog as his bangs flopped wetly against his forehead, slightly blocking his vision. Dammit. Not like he didn't spend enough time basically dumping an entire tub of hair gel every morning to avoid this particular issue. The warmth of his breath brushing his upper lip as his exhaled in frustration. Great, not like Bakugo didn't have enough things to give him shit for already.

Giving up on the whole running ordeal, Kirishima let himself idly gaze up at the clouds, raindrops falling on his face and wedging themselves under his faceguard. The tips of his hair weighing down around just above his shoulders.

"Wow, you sure go out of your way to make your hair look as shitty as possible, don't you?!" Mocked Bakugo, between heavy breaths.

Of course, the Alpha managed to catch up to him. No matter how far he ran they always managed to get to him. Always.

* * *

"Mum, there's something in my eye!" Cried Kirishima, pulling at his eyelids clumsily. The reflection in the mirror only confusing him more.

"Just a minute Eijiro." Reassured his mother, following by the sound of the telephone being clicked back into its holder.

Kirishima's grunts slowly progressed to whines as the itching sensation under his top eyelid worsened. He never understood how his mother always managed to get things out so easily. He just wanted to rub his eye. His mother always told him not to. But it was so itchy. Just a little bit, just until his mother got there to help him.

He relaxed a little as the annoying feeling stopped, scratching his eyebrow with his knuckle. Pressing down a little harder he flinched, tears filling the inner corners of his eye as he felt something scratch his right eyelid. Retracting his finger out of shock Kirishima could see a patch of red staining the creases of his finger. The feeling of something warm trickling its way down, around his eye only adding to the growing urge to throw up.

"Mum!"

"Yes, Eijiro?"

"Mum it hurts!"

The next thing he knew Kirishima's eye had been clumsily had a band-aid put on it and was sitting in the back seat of his mother's car. He recognised some of the shops as they passed by them in the window and took time to admire his black hair in the non-quite-there reflection every time the car stopped at the traffic lights. He was five years old now, and these things called "quirks" had been a constant topic at his pre-school. But quirks weren't supposed to hurt people. He'd always dreamed of having a cool earth-bending quirk or maybe temporary super speed. After all quirks were meant to be a combination of your parents' abilities. He'd probably just scratched himself with his fingernails and his mother was worrying too much. Maybe she'd take him out for ice-cream after this, and he'd spend ages trying to decide between chocolate and raspberry.

The doctor's clinic was more or less empty, which was good because Kirishima always got bored sitting in the waiting room. Sure, it was fun to swing his legs on the chair or see how far his feet were from touching the ground (he was quite tall for his age after all) but watching All Might or Endeavour's interviews on T.V. was much more fun. Hopefully it'd be his turn soon, the waiting room didn't have a T.V., just some dusty radio in the corner that played nothing besides old people music. It was almost 5pm, he really didn't want to miss this week's episode.

He practically jumped out of his seat when the lady at the counter (a reception-tist, or something like that, he'd heard his mother call them that once) called his name. Only to be held back by his mother's grip around his wrist, until he had calmed down enough for her to decide he was ready go into the doctor's office.

As always, his office was filled with a boring shade of white. White walls, white floors, white tables and white chairs. The only colourful thing was a pale blue curtain in front of the bed Kirishima was usually asked to sit on during his check-ups. How the man didn't get bored sitting in a room like that was beyond him. Then again, the man himself gave Kirishima the creeps. Completely bald, with a head that looked like and egg, grey moustache and glasses with green lenses that didn't let you see where the man was looking.

"How can I help you today Mrs. Kirishima?" Asked the man, smiling softly at Kirishima as he did so.

"Well Dr. Tsubasa, as you know my son recently had his fifth birthday and hasn't presented yet. However, I think his quirk might have manifested today." Explained Kirishima's mother, gesturing to the loosely applied plaster on his right eye. "I was wondering if you could do a quick check up on him since statuses and quirks normally come about at the same time."

"Of course, Mrs. Kirishima."

Kirishima shuddered as the clammy hands of the man were placed under his chin, lifting his head up as the man took a glance at each side.

"I'm not seeing any swelling, which means your son doesn't have a mutant-type quirk." Explained the doctor. "Although I suspect this was rather obvious to you already. What quirks do you and your partner possess again?"

"Well I can manipulate mud and clay and my husband can create small barrier for short period of time. We're both Betas, so Eijiro is probably one as well."

"I suppose this injury was caused by him then?"

"Yes, he was telling me there was something in his eye, so I hung up the phone and went to find the eyedrops. There was a cut on his eyelid when I got to him."

The feeling of dampness returned as the doctor's hands found their way to his hand, his thumb pressing uncomfortably into his right palm. Kirishima closed his eyes, wishing away the doctor's touch. Slowly inching them open as a strange sensation filled his hand, the unsettling cold melting away as the feeling in his fingers combined into one.

"Congratulations Mrs. Kirishima, it seems that your son has a transformation-type quirk that allows him to transform his body into a rock-like substance."

Kirishima didn't remember much after that, just having his finger pricked and his blood testing positive for Beta genes.

The next day at school started more or less the same. He was ushered inside by his teacher and waved goodbye to his mother before taking his seat. Most of the kids at his table had already materialised their quirks, including himself. Of course, his quirk was nothing special compared to some of the others. He couldn't breath fire, or melt things with acid, or summon plants from the floor like some of the Alphas. How boring.

"Hey Kirishima, what's your quirk?" Asked the Alpha boy seated to his left, pointing to the Kirishima's hand that had unconsciously started to harden.

"Oh…" Stuttered Kirishima in response, hiding his hand under the table. "I can turn my body into this stone-like stuff, nothing great…"

"So, you're just like Crimson Riot then? Wow that's so cool!"

Kirishima found himself redden a little at the compliment. An Alpha had complimented him. An Alpha.

"What's your quirk?" Kirishima found himself asking the purple-haired boy.

"I can control anyone who responds to one of my statements." Explained the Alpha, casting a sinister smile at Kirishima.

"Wow that's so cool!" Kirishima found himself yelling, before clamping his hands over his mouth.

Kirishima sunk into his chair a little as the teacher shushed him. Glancing back over to the Alpha who was laughing a little.

"What's your name? Mine's Kirishima Eijiro." Said Kirishima, his tone now softer.

"I'm Shinso Hitoshi." Chuckled the Alpha. "Don't worry I won't do that to you again, you seem nice."

After that day Kirishima found himself spending more time with Shinso. So much time in fact that he started calling him Hitoshi. It was mainly exploring the neighbourhood or watching Crimson Riot's interviews on the T.V. in Kirishima's living room while eating orange slices. Eventually Kirishima grew so accustomed to the Alpha's presence that he began to feel something was missing when the boy wasn't there. Like simply spending time together after primary school wasn't enough to calm the growing feeling within him.

He got his answer soon enough.

"Now children since you're all five years old I'm sure your parents would have taken you to a doctor and you would have been told about some things called "quirks" and "statuses"." Explained the teacher, tapping the projected triangle on the whiteboard. "While, you're probably too young to fully understand the power you all hold within you, you're probably also curious to know all about these things called "statuses" that make up the world we live in."

Kirishima nodded in agreement as though the statement had only been said to him. He knew all about Alphas and how amazing they were, and he was a Beta so of course he was more than familiar with them; but apparently there was a third status no one had explained to him yet. "Amegah" or something like that.

"All of you in this room right now are either Alphas or Beta." Continued the teacher, pointing at the top and middle parts of the picture. "You make up 10% and 80% of the population each. There is a third status, called Omegas, that go to different primary schools for reasons you are too young to understand right now. However, for every Alpha that exists in this world these is a special Omega that they are destined to become a "pair" with. A "pair" is a very beautiful thing within this society, and its purpose is to create the next generation by having lots of babies. Betas can also form "pairs" and partake in making the next generation. Forming a "pair" means that you will spend the rest of your life with that person."

"Miss, what about Alphas who form pears with Alphas or Betas instead of Omegas?" Kirishima noticed Histoshi ask. "I hear my mother talking a lot about an Alpha-Beta pear on the phone."

"You're thinking the wrong type of pair Shinso, a 'pear' is a fruit." Corrected the teacher. "As for 'those' types of pairs, while they are not the best option, as long as they are able to produce babies, they are absolutely fine. Otherwise they are considered wrong and should not exist in our society. Any more questions?"

Kirishima felt a sudden coldness fill his body, like the feeling of Dr. Tsubasa's hands on his chin, but worse. Apparently, what he was feeling towards Hitoshi was wrong. But it was okay, he didn't want to become Hitoshi's pair, he just didn't want Hitoshi forming a pair with anyone else. That wasn't so bad was it? It wasn't like he'd been keeping Hitoshi all to himself. Hitoshi had just spent more time with him than anyone else. One day Hitoshi would find his "Oh-mega" and then what? What if Hitoshi never found his pair because of him?

The more time Kirishima spent with Hitoshi, the more the hidden thoughts of wanting to be his pair threatened to come to the surface. No matter how hard he tried, the thought wouldn't leave him. What was wrong with him?

This had to stop.

"Hitoshi your quirk is evil, and I don't want to be your friend anymore!" Yelled Kirishima, even though he knew it was wrong to lie.

Hitoshi looked up at him from where he was seated on the living room couch, his dark-rimmed eyes forming a confused expression.

"Why?" Was all he said.

Kirishima pursed his lips together tight as he could as ran up the stairs to his room. The urge to explain why growing stronger with each step. Only once he had closed his door with a soft thud, did the tears that had been welling in the corners of his eyes finally being to fall.

* * *

"Kirishima!" Cried Midoriya, as Shouto watched the waterlogged Beta make his way into the building.

The red-hair boy looked cold, as expected of someone who had run through a cityscape in heavy rain with minimal amounts of clothing on. The last thing Shouto wanted was one of his teammates contracting hypothermia, then they'd have two patients on their hands.

"Are you cold?" Shouto found himself asking the Beta.

"Yeah just a lil' bit. Nothing too serious though, I'll be 'right." Reassured Kirishima.

The boy was obviously lying, his face lacked a healthy amount of colouring and it was obvious, even in the poor lighting the room provided. Not to mention he was beginning to visibly shiver. Not a good sign.

"Are you sure?" Interjected Midoriya. "You're shivering."

"You shitty Beta!" Came the expected cussing, as a fuming Bakugo made his way through the entrance. "I can't believe you made me chase after you in this shitty rain! I'd bloody tear you limb from limb if the asshole teachers didn't make it so damn difficult!"

"Please Bakugo, not now. Kirishima doesn't look too well and we still need to take care of the faux civilian."

"Shitty Beta deserves whatever come to him!"

To Shouto's surprise, Midoriya's plea actually managed to calm, or rather deter the Alpha from pursuing any further conflict. Reaching into his other concealed pouch, he retrieved a small metal canteen of water. Clutching it firmly in his left hand, he focussed on gently heating the liquid it contained. Just enough for it to increase one's body temperature, but not enough for it to burn or cause further injury. Shouto held it in his right hand once more to ensure it was adequately heated, before handing it to Kirishima who nodded appreciatively at the gesture.

"Todoroki, do you think you can make one for Bakugo as well?" Requested Midoriya, subtly gesturing to the slouched figure with his head.

As though to answer his own question, Midoriya handed Todoroki a similar-looking canteen. While Shouto couldn't quite understand the limitless sympathy that Midoriya possessed for their less-than pleasant classmate, he obliged.

"So did ya find 'em?" Asked Kirishima, his more energetic tone proving he'd just finished drinking the water Shouto had warmed for him.

"Yeah. They're upstairs, Todoroki had most of the supplies we needed and took care of most of their injuries. But we didn't have anything we could use as a splint. The ice-like bits of his costume were too uneven and constrictive" Explained Midoriya. "You wouldn't happen to have something we could use, would you?"

"Ya think my shoulder pads would do the job? I mean I kinda had them designed to protect people if I was carrying them while my hardening quirk was active, so they'd probably be good for this sorta thing, right?"

"I think that would work. Stay here and rest, Todoroki and I will take care of this." Said Midoriya, a comforting tone filling his voice.

"I'm going to guess you don't carry first aid supplied on you." Stated Shouto, as he handed Bakugo his share of warmed water.

"Why the hell would I?! Healing is damn Omega's job!" Spat the Alpha, snatching the water off Shouto without a hint of gratitude.

Shouto sighed inwardly as he followed Midoriya back up the stairs, working with Bakugo was anything but enjoyable. Although, he was sure that the past hour had been a lot more stressful for Kirishima. At least it was all over now.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9:

"You were amazing out there Asui!"

Todoroki turned to see Uraraka complimenting the green-haired girl from earlier. He noticed a rather dishevelled Iida and crow-headed boy standing off to the side, behind her. Judging from the sand piling up around Iida's feet and the dust cloud-coughs of the tethered shadow; Shouto guessed they had been assigned to the Landslide Zone. Not the zone he would've thought someone with a frog-based quirk would excel in, but then again, the same assumption could have easily been made of him in the Downpour Zone. Having a quirk that was half fire-based, he thought he would've been disadvantaged. Thankfully the excessive moisture in the air had enhanced the power of his ice-based half.

"Midoriya, Kirishima, Todoroki. Nice to see you again. How did you do?"

As expected, no one went unnoticed by Uraraka. After all, it was no mystery why she had been the class' first choice for class president.

"It went quite well." Replied Midoriya, rushing over to greet the group. "But Todoroki did most of the work, I just took care of the faux civilian."

From where he stood, Shouto found himself confused at the boy's response. Midoriya was blatantly lying, on top of downplaying his abilities. He wasn't sure if it wasn't a strategic move on the boy's part, but even that made no sense. Uraraka and Iida were Midoriya's friends. They knew how capable the Beta was.

After all, Midoriya had done a majority of the work in the exercise, his observational skills were practically unmatched, and he'd performed a majority of the first aid on the faux civilian. In reality, Shouto had done little more than use an ice wall as a signal and hand Midoriya any supplies he had asked for.

"Todoroki, come join us." Came the friendly voice of Uraraka, as she waved at him.

Not wanting to be rude, Shouto obliged.

"I don't believe we've met before." Said the bird-headed boy, as Shouto approached the group. "I'm Tokoyami Fumikage, nice to mee you."

"Todoroki Shouto."

He took a moment to examine the boy's features up close. His head was primarily made up of jet-black feathers that were so small and densely packed they could easily be mistaken for oiled hair from a distance. The rest of his head was a slightly hooked, yellow beak. That resembled that of an eagle more than that of a crow. Shouto wondered if the boy had teeth since the rest of his body was human looking, but since the boy seemed about as talkative as him, he guessed he wouldn't get an answer out of him either way.

"Hello Todoroki." Greeted the girl, raising her hand in a friendly gesture. "I'm Asui Tsuyu. You must be one of Uraraka's friends. The one with an ice-type quirk? Ribbit."

Shouto replied with a brief nod, guessing she had overheard his prior conversation with Tokoyami. The duo seemed rather friendly, albeit more reserved than the likes of Uraraka. Strangely enough neither had bothered mentioning their status in their introductions, which was odd for individuals with animal-like characteristics. Such individuals normally introduced themselves based on status, as it was more difficult to determine their constitution after factoring out any unorthodox characteristics; as well as noticing any pheromones they emitted. If Shouto had to make assumptions, he would assign Tokoyami as an Alpha, and Asui as a Beta. But if he turned out to be completely wrong, it would come as no surprise to him either.

"Wonderful work all of you." Came a familiar raspy voice, as Thirteen made their way into the lobby. "I'm pleased to announce that all of you were successful in completing your assigned task; and that while not all of you had quirks that were at their best in your assigned zones you all managed to give it your all and that's what counts at the end of the day. As a rescue hero, as long as your manage to save lives it doesn't matter how flashy your method is. I hope that you all learned something about yourselves today and maybe decide to pursue this type of work full-time once you graduate."

While Shouto agreed with most of Thirteen's statements, he had to wonder if they had been watching their activities over video surveillance like All Might in their precious practical class. Or if they had simply based their judgement on the points calculated by the faux civilians once they had been treated. Regardless of their grading methods, he had to admit his was rather displeased with the fact Bakugo would be receiving a perfect grade along with the rest of his group. The Alpha had done nothing to assist the team, not even carrying basic medical supplies spoke volumes of his sheer arrogance. Not to mention he had been a complete hinderance, and completely disregarded all of them by actively going against any of their suggestions. Looking back on things, Shouto was more than certain that if Midoriya hadn't asked a favour of him, Bakugo would be back in Recovery Girl's office surrounded by heat packs.

He did owe it to Midoriya though, the Beta had almost died twice because of his actions. The least he could do for the boy was respect his wishes, not matter how odd they seemed. Midoriya was far from stupid, and for Shouto that was reason enough not to question his judgement.

* * *

"Thankfully Thirteen had no complaints about any of you." Sighed Eraser Head, idly flicking through the newly formed stack of paper on his desk. "Somehow you all managed to be on time to their class, if only the same could be said of my class."

As if on cue, Kirishima burst through the door only to be met with what Shouto could only assume was Eraser Head's disappointed expression.

"Sorry teach' couldn't find my workbook." Said Kirishima as he ran to his seat, the legs of his chair dragging across the floor as he sat down, producing a screeching sound in the process.

"Anyway." Continued Eraser Head, as Tokoyami trudged into the class, his shadow clawing at the doorframe frantically in an act of protest.

"I apologise for my tardiness, last night was a new moon so Dark Shadow is still quite energetic." Explained Tokoyami, bowing his head as he passed Mr Aizawa.

"As I was saying."

The class was filled with stifled laughs as the short, purple-haired boy snuck into the class, inching against the wall in hopes of reaching his seat without being noticed.

"The next person to walk through that door is going to be expelled." Groaned Eraser Head, scratching his head absently. "Anyway, the point is, a month from now U.A. is going to hold its annual sports festival. You will all compete in a series of elimination events; all individuals who place high enough will move on to the final stage which are one on one fights. You will only be competing against other first year students, so you do not need to worry about fighting individuals with more hero training experience than yourselves. The purpose of this event is to show current and veteran professional heroes what the next generation of heroes has to offer, and to help them decide if they want to offer you an internship. Any questions?"

Shouto watched as a sea of hands flew up.

"None? Good. I believe you all have a class with Present Mic now, and don't be late because I will find out."

* * *

"How the hell does Mr Aizawa expect us to compete in a sports carnival by next month?!" Exclaimed Kirishima in between mouthfuls of rice. "I mean we only just got 'ere a week ago. Now they wanna put us on national television for the world to see?"

"The sports carnival is next month. I think U.A. will prepare us adequately." Said Iida, checking his timetable on his phone.

"There haven't been any changes to the timetable." Added Shouto.

"Based on previous years the sport carnival is usually an individual event, followed by a team event, with the top teams then going on to complete the individual tournament." Explained Midoriya. "After all, last year it was a scavenger hunts followed by capture the flag."

"Huh? How'd ya know all that?" Asked Kirishima.

Shouto looked over to Midoriya, who now looked quite flustered after being called out.

"Well… I watched the broadcasting when it aired."

"It is on national television." Reaffirmed Iida in a tone that made Kirishima pause to process the statement.

"Anyway, the winner from two years ago, Togata Mirio, had Permeation as his quirk, he won the maze challenge by phasing through the walls. For the river crossing team challenge he teamed up with Amajiki Tamaki and Hado Nejire. Amajiki placed second and Hado placed third." Added Midoriya. "I'm not sure what their quirks were exactly, but I do remember Amajiki could grow wings and Hado could produce these powerful yellow beams from her hands."

"You seem quite knowledgeable, Midoriya."

"I wouldn't say that Iida…"

"He's right Midoriya, you know your stuff!" Reassured Uraraka, smiling at the boy. "What do you think U.A. is going to set as the two preliminary challenges this year?"

"Well based on the pattern the challenges follow, I'd guess that this year is probably going to have an obstacle course, and another capture the flag challenge. They usually cycle between mazes, obstacles courses and scavenger hunts for the individual preliminary round and capture the flag or river crossing-style challenges for the team preliminary round."

"So, we can safely bet on our carnival containing either of those challenges then?" Asked Tokoyami

"I would think so. Please don't take my word for it though, I'm not 100% sure on these things myself." Replied Midoriya, scratching the back on his head awkwardly.

Shouto watched as the rest of the table resumed their conversation, which in reality was just Uraraka reassuring Kirishima that they would all be fine and everyone else agreeing in hopes of calming the red-haired Beta who continued to progressively raise his voice. Midoriya had also gone silent. Looking more closely at the Beta, Shouto realised that his attention was directed to his lap. Straightening his posture, and following the Midoriya's line of sight, Shouto noticed that he was reading from a rather tattered looking composition book. Checking to make sure that the rest of the table was still preoccupied with Kirishima, Shouto quietly stood up and made his way to the other side of the table.

As expected, Midoriya tensed up considerably once he noticed Shouto's presence. While Shouto was confident his was incapable of emitting pheromones, he was aware that certain reactions were completely independent of such things. "Primitive" or "knee-jerk reaction" as Fuyumi called it. Shouto stood behind Midoriya, staring blanking at the remaining space on the bench. It didn't feel right to stand over the boy while he read from his book, looming menacingly; but at the same time Shouto wasn't sure if he knew Midoriya well enough to sit next to him without asking for permission.

"May I sit here?" Asked Shouto, the question coming out more demanding than he intended.

"Of course." Replied Midoriya, slamming the book closed and shuffling over. Presumably to give Shouto more room.

"What are you reading?"

Once again, the question sounded too much like a demand; and Shouto found himself inwardly cursing his habitual stoic tone.

"Nothing." Replied Midoriya, clumsily shoving the book under the table and into his school bag.

"May I see?"

While still a far cry from the upbeat tone of Uraraka, Shouto was glad that his question sounded more like a request this time.

"Okay… Just p-p-promise me you won't laugh at it?"

Judging from the Beta's flustered expression and his refusal to make eye contact as he gently passed the book under the table, Shouto knew that degrading the Beta based on the text was the last thing he wanted to do. He placed the book flat on his lap as Midoriya had done, an attempt of sorts to stop the rest of the group from noticing. Then again staring at ones lap in the age of mobile phones wasn't exactly uncommon, they'd probably pay it no mind.

Shouto wasn't sure what he expected, but he was rather taken back by the detailed hero sketches that adorned the inner front cover. Though minimalistic the spandex body suit clad figure with two antenna-like protrusions of hair was unmistakably All Might. The next page spread featured a detailed sketch of All Might's hero suit on the left, annotations analysing how each aspect of the suit maximised the hero's quirk cluttered the page. On the right was a detailed table with a basic statistic break down, a summarised quirk description and a paragraph theorising potential drawback and weaknesses. Certain annotations were so in-depth that Shouto was convinced he'd be unable to note them at his current skill level; despite receiving gruelling training in hero analysis since early childhood.

Continuing to look through the notebook, he found pages that featured veteran heroes such as Gran Torino, underground heroes like Eraser Head and even upcoming heroes like Mt. Lady. Certain pages even contained so much information that text was crammed into the margins with small arrows indicating the correct reading direction. To say that Midoriya was just a skilled analysist would be a huge discredit to the Beta.

Satisfied that he had seen enough for the moment, Shouto gently shut the book and turned to face Midoriya, only to find and empty seat. Although his first thought was to simply ask another member of the table where Midoriya had gone, they were so invested in their own conversation that Shouto felt out of placing trying to interrupt. Quietly standing up, he walked away from the table in search of the Beta.

* * *

"What the hell are you doing following me around shitty Deku?!" Hissed Bakugo, spitting at his feet.

"I just need to tell you something." Replied Midoriya

"What could possibly be so damn important that it makes you wanna leave your new friends?!"

"Ka-chan it's not like that, please just listen to what I need to say."

"Just get out of my damn sight you shitty quirkless Beta! Oh, wait you're not freakin' quirkless after all are you, bet you felt real damn good making a fool outta me like that!"

"Ka-chan please…"

"So ya think you can just stroll in here and take my dream away from me after abandoning me when I presented as an Alpha back when we were kids?! Go piss on someone else's parade! Why are you even showing ya damn face around me?! You have a new setta friends anyway!"

"Listen to me! My quirk is something that someone gave to me and I've been training all the time just so I could come here and fulfil my dream of being a great hero! Is that so wrong?! I never intended to make a fool out of you, and you know that what happened when we were kids wasn't in my control so stop acting like it was!"

"Whatever." Groaned Bakugo, turning away from the Beta as he continued to walk out through the school gate.

From the other side of the school yard, Shouto watched as the foul-tempted Alpha stormed off campus, leaving a defeated looking Midoriya standing at the gate. Whatever had just happened between the two boys was admittedly none of his business, but in spite of this he found his curiosity for Midoriya growing. Apparently, the Beta had been given a quirk by someone after being born quirkless. Such a thing was unheard of, but then again so was being a Gamma. Perhaps Fuyumi would know more. But first he had a book to return.

* * *

Shouto placed his bag at the side of the hallway, slipping off his shoes as he took a moment to stare at his apartment. Despite being extremely cramped, after spending a week surrounded by a group of talkative people at school, it was beginning to feel too large with the empty corners of each room becoming increasingly more noticeable. Perhaps it was time to invest in a houseplant, that way there would be at least one other source of life in the house. It would be cheaper than a pet as well, not that a pet was an option to begin with. His landlord has strict policies in place that prevented any tenants from keeping them.

Pausing from his inner ramblings, Shouto stared blankly at the landline. Following his emancipation, his father had refused to associate with him unless it was for the purpose of boosting his public image and his youth allowance did grant him sufficient funds to purchase a mobile phone. As such, he was forced to rely on the outdated piece of wall-hung technology as his sole means of contacting Fuyumi. Exhaling a puff of frost, he punched in the required numbers.

The phone rang five times before being picked up, and Shouto was convinced they were fumbling with it based on the amount of air-based feedback coming through the receiver. Typical Fuyumi.

"Shouto! How's my favourite little brother? Is school okay? Do you need anything? Dad hasn't bothered you has he?" Came the familiar voice of his older sister.

"Hello Fuyumi, please don't tell me you greet everyone who phones you this way."

"Of course, I don't. You just happen to be the only person who called me using landline."

"It's not a choice."

"I know Shouto, I know. Anyway, what did you want to call me about? You don't normally phone me outside our usual time unless it's something important. I know my little brother after all."

"Well to answer your prior questions, yes school is fine. I do need to ask you about something, and father hasn't bothered me."

"As formal as always, I'm just your big sister. You're allowed to use slang, or whatever language kids your age are using these days when you're talking to me you know?"

"I know. Anyway, is it possible for someone to be born quirkless and be given a quirk later in their life?"

"No, not that I know of. Quirks can only be inherited through birth, you either have one or you don't. Quirklessness is also uncommon within the Beta population, it's only present in about 5% of Betas. Normally Omegas are quirkless, it's estimated that it may be present in up to 50% of the omega population. Why do you ask?"

"There's a Beta-"

"Oh, tell me more, are they your friend? What do they look like? I don't think you've ever been interested in anyone before, not even platonically."

Shouto paused. Midoriya has saved his life, he'd almost died twice because of Shouto's actions and he'd even let him read his personal notebook. Those things were normal for friends, weren't they? It was true that Shouto quite enjoyed the Beta's company. It was refreshing to meet someone as invested in becoming a hero as him. Although Uraraka and Iida were kind enough to him, it was obvious that they weren't as invested in obtaining all the information they possible could about past, present and upcoming professional heroes. But he'd barely talked to the Beta, they'd only had their first conversation today and it barely lasted a minute. Perhaps, that had been his fault. He hadn't exactly gone out of his way to talk to anyone, let alone Midoriya. Maybe it was time for that to change. After all, there was a possibility that Midoriya considered him his friend.

"Yes, they're my friend."

[A/N: Hello all, sorry for the mistake I made the first time I posted this fic where accidentally uploaded a chapter twice. Unfortunately, I'm not familiar with this site, but the issue has been resolved. Also thank you for reading my work so far, I'm new to writing fanfiction so any feedback is greatly appreciated as I do hope to improve by the end of this fic. Also for those who are curious, this fic updates weekly most of the time. :)]


	10. Chapter 10

"So, here's the plan. We're gonna meet up to train every day after school 'til the sport carnival gets here!" Announced Kirishima, to the rest of the table.

Shouto looked up at the red-haired Beta from behind his English notebook. Following yesterday's events, he had promised himself he'd try to be a bit more sociable with the group he'd grown accustomed to spending most of his day with. Or at least not act coldly around them for lack of better words.

"Sure."

It wasn't exactly the most enthusiastic response, but at least it was some form of support for one of the red-haired Beta's more reasonable suggestions.

"Why are we training? Better yet how are we going to train?" Asked Iida, setting down his chopstick and dabbing the corners of his mouth with his napkin.

"Well in case ya hadn't noticed there's an Alpha 'round 'ere who's ass I wanna kick." Huffed Kirishima, punching his fists together. "That an' I don't really think teach' is doing enough to prep us, ya know?"

"He's got a point, even though the sport carnival is in less than a month there haven't exactly been an increase in practical classes." Added Uraraka, lacing her fingers together thoughtfully. "Training together seems like a nice way to improve alongside one another as well."

"Right on!" Cheered Kirishima, flashing one of his shark-toothed grins.

"This does raise the question of what are we going to do." Said Iida. "Where should we meet so that it's convenient for everyone? Also, what are we going to do to make best use of our time?"

"Sparrin' of course!"

"A-a-actually that's not the best idea." Stuttered Midoriya, avoiding eye contact with the energised red head. "Nothing but sparing will just tire us out, the body needs at least a one week to recover from such intense training."

"Ah right, I kinda forgot about the whole recovery thing…" Laughed Kirishima, scratching the back of his head awkwardly.

"We should probably focus on strengthening certain aspects of our quirks. Since your quirk is a transformation-type you would probably benefit from figuring out the extent of damage you can completely block and the hardness of the materials you can cut through." Suggested Midoriya.

Shouto nodded at the Beta's suggestion. Even if he was too lost in his own thoughts to notice the affirmative gesture; Shouto still found himself impressed once more at the observational skills he possessed. Especially given the limited exposure he'd had to Kirishima's quirk.

"If you don't mind me asking, what would you recommend for me?" Added Iida

"Well your quirk is a mutation-type so its skill ceiling will be linked to your athletic ability. I think endurance training would be the best way to consistently raise your skill level.

"Wow Midoriya, you sure know your stuff!" Said Uraraka, flashing a grin at the Beta. "You could probably design a training program for all of us with little trouble. If your don't mind that is. I know Mr Aizawa has been quite enthusiastic to hand out homework these days."

"I don't mind…"

Shouto watched as Midoriya's flush darkened under the dazzling rays of Uraraka's grin. Despite his knowledge of quirks, one power he'd never understand was the power of infatuation. It was truly something to be feared.

"So, it's settled then? We'll meet after class in the forest behind the USJ?" Asked Uraraka, in a manner that lead Shouto to believe she was completely oblivious to the effect she'd just had on Midoriya.

Refraining from one of his signature sighs, Shouto joined the group in unanimous agreement.

* * *

As expected, he was the first one to arrive, being five minutes early had its perks in certain situations. This was no exception. The forest was surprisingly private given how close it was to one of the most publicised campuses in the country. Shouto also noticed that the air was crisper, and its moisture purer than the polluted air of the city or the stagnant air of UA's training facilities. Trying to coax the moisture into ice was extremely tedious when it was constantly bumping into smog or the odd bit of chemical residue. This was a pleasant change to say in the least. Shouto cupped his palm, his expression softening as tendrils of frost swirled idly upwards from his hand.

The shuffling of leaves broke the silence, and Shouto found his expression stiffening once more as he turned to face the source. His sudden reaction seemed to have startled whoever it was, as his ears were abruptly dragged from the serenity of the forest's white noise and met with a panicked yelp.

"T-todoroki! I didn't expect you to be here. Well I didn't expect you to be here so early, of course I expected you to be here since we organised to meet and lunch and…" Said Midoriya, his mumble growing increasingly present as he continued.

"Hello… Midoriya."

Shouto flinched inwardly at his response. The greeting was an improvement from his usual nod of acknowledgment but based on what Fuyumi had told him it was "too formal" to use when talking to friends. The pause was also doing very little to ease the awkwardness Midoriya has established, while it had proven that Shouto was aware of the Beta's name it made it seem like he had forgotten it, rather than simply considering whether to include it in the greeting or not.

"Anyway, do you know where everyone else is? Isn't it 3pm right now?"

Thankfully it seemed as though Midoriya had already recovered from the prior awkwardness and had shifted the conversation to trivial topics.

"I'm not sure where everyone else is, but the last time I checked it was 2:55pm. I think it would be past 3pm by now."

"I'm sure they'll show up eventually. In the meantime, would you like to hear the training program I came up with for all of us? I texted it to Uraraka last night, but she never got back to me about it. You seem like you know more about this than me, so I'd really appreciate your opinion. Sorry, I'm mumbling aren't I…"

Shouto nodded, momentarily disappointed at his inability to respond is a more sociable manner. Either way it seemed to be good enough for Midoriya who was fumbling around in his backpack for his phone.

"It's in here somewhere. Argh I swear I packed it! It'll probably be easier to find if I get you to call me since my ringtone's quite loud. I'll give you my number." Sighed Midoriya, looking up at Shouto awkwardly.

"I don't have a phone."

"Huh? Then how do you call your parents?"

"I don't have a mobile phone." Explained Shouto.

"Oh, right, right. Sorry I didn't realise…"

"It's fine."

"I'll give you my number anyway, everyone else in the group has it, I just never got around to giving it to you. Call me if you ever need help with anything, not that you will. After all you're basically the best at everything based on what I've seen you do in class…"

"Thank you." Said Shouto, accepting the strip of paper Midoriya handed to him.

Even with his sad excuse of a phone, Shouto supposed he'd phone the Beta later just to confirm the number worked.

"I think I forgot my phone." Announced Midoriya, leaning against a tree trunk in defeat. "Uraraka can just show us when she gets here."

* * *

"Uraraka we're going to be late. No, rather we are late." Groaned Iida, tapping at his watch in hopes the hands would magically move backwards to reveal the "real time".

"We're not leaving without Kirishima!" Huffed Uraraka. "Where is he anyway? Class ended over half an hour ago and he said to meet him here."

"I'll call him. Knowing him he probably forgot about it, even though he was the one who suggested it in the first place. With so much enthusiasm too." Sighed Iida, rapidly typing in the password to his phone.

"Kirishima, where are you?"

"Oh, hey Iida! Wassup?"

"In case you forgot we're meant to be meeting now for a group training session."

"Are we?"

"Yes. In case you forgot, you suggested it at lunch."

"I did? Dammit I knew I was forgetting something. I did too! Okay I'll see ya there in five 'kay?"

Iida exhaled deeply as the Beta's barking was replaced with the droning of the hang-up tone.

"So?" Asked Uraraka, a knowing look on her face.

"I was right. Let's go."

* * *

"Midoriya, Todoroki!" Greeted Uraraka as she rushed to greet them, Iida trailing along behind her dragging a protesting Kirishima by his wrist.

"Sorry we're late, Kirishima was having difficulty remembering his own commitments." Explained Iida. "So, what's the plan?"

"I forgot my phone." Said Midoriya. "So unfortunately, Uraraka's the only one with a copy of the plan I came up with."

"Ah right. Here you go Midoriya." Reassured Uraraka, handing Midoriya her phone.

Shouto guessed it had already been opened to the text in question, based on the way Midoriya was dragging at the screen.

"Please keep in mind that I'm not the most familiar with all of your quirks, so feel free to correct me if you think there's something that would suit you better."

Following Midoriya's brief overview Shouto found himself serving as the Beta's referee in his sparring match against Kirishima. Midoriya had suggested Kirishima practice by cutting down small overhanging branches on the surrounding trees to improve his control; and ability to maintain his quirk while moving. Of course, the overly enthusiastic red-haired Beta was having none of it and insisted to a sparring match as Shouto predicted. Iida and Uraraka had immediately refused, and ran off to complete their recommended exercises elsewhere, as evident from the rustling of the foliage and creaking of branches as the two raced through the treetops. Shouto had been more than willing to spar Kirishima. However, the Beta has immediately taken it as a personal attack to his "manliness" given how their last match had gone. Which left Midoriya, who was only too happy to oblige.

His gaze followed the duo back and forth as they exchanged blows. Midoriya's fingers laced with aggressive emerald sparks and Kirishima's hands now resembling stone blades. Judging from the way Midoriya's footwork was darting backwards in a rapid, yet calculated manner Shouto guessed he was on the defensive. Which was interesting since the manner in which he kept swiping at the openings in Kirishima's amateurish guard lent itself to a more offensive style.

The idea of fighting styles that were simultaneously offensive and defensive was nothing new to Shouto. Especially given how his father took on all his opponents with nothing but unbridled rage. Even if that opponent was his own son. However, Mirodiya's actions seemed to be instinctual (albeit unrefined) rather than a conscious decision. Regardless of the reason behind Midoriya's actions, he was holding his own against Kirishima rather comfortably. His blocks were not as effortless as Shouto's but they were still enough to put his opponent on the defensive.

Unfortunately, the same could not be said of Midoriya's quirk control. The emerald bolts constantly flickered from aggressively humming to dim or non-existent. This was particularly evident whenever the Beta was forced to jump out of the way of one of Kirishima's ankle kicks. It was definitely odd. Midoriya excelled in quirk utilisation but struggled considerably with manifestation; rather odd for someone with his level of combat knowledge. People normally struggled with quirk utilisation. Kirishima was a prime example of this, while he could easily change the form of his appendages at will, he was unable to cut through certain materials. It was almost as if Midoriya's body was rejecting his quirk. Then again, the Beta did mention his quirk was given to him. Was such a thing normal for Betas?

Shouto continued to watch as Midoriya continued to weave around Kirishima's rapid strikes. A light sheen of sweat forming along his brow as he continued to read the attack pattern. It was obvious that this match was little more than a glorified standstill at this point. It had been at least 10 minutes, and neither Kirishima, nor Midoriya had managed to land a hit on each other.

He was disrupted from his thoughts by the crackling of twigs. Midoriya's feet and ankles were now humming with the Beta's signature emerald sheen; his eyes narrowing into a focused look. Shouto slowly got up from where he had been leaning against a tree. As referee it was his responsibility to intervene if things got too severe for a sparring match.

Would Kirishima want him to intervene was the real question. Glancing over to the Beta in question, Shouto noticed that all visible parts of the Beta's skin now beared the same jagged texture of his hands. His stance was low to the ground and stable, a similar look of determination now adorned his face. He was ready.

Shouto exhaled a small cloud of frost and watched it slowly dissipate in the neutral forest air as he felt the trunk of the tree dig into his spine once more. At this point he was confused why Iida even insisted he supervise the match to begin with.

Midoriya rushed at Kirishima, his right hand extended in a punch. Rather than flinching at the sight of Midoriya's emitter-type quirk, the Beta was wearing a crazed grin. His teeth even sharper after the effects of his quirk. Just before Midoriya's punch could connect, the green-haired Beta extended his index finger. The crackling bolts of green flowing into his fingertip as it made contact with Kirishima's chest.

Kirishima let out an exhilarated huff as his feet dragged backwards in the dirt, producing a train track-like pattern approximately four feet long.

"Ey, not bad lil' guy." Jeered Kirishima, as his skin reverted back to its normal state. "Ya almost got me. So whaddya think? Have I improved?"

"You were good." Complimented Midoriya, taking the chance to wipe the sweat from his forehead. "But I don't think we should make this a regular thing, it really tired me out."

"Waddya mean?! I'm all pumped up! Hey Todoroki, want to spar again? I need to make up for last time."

Shouto responded with two concise shakes of his head. He wanted to let the Beta have his moment. He'd beaten the Beta before without even using his quirk. He didn't want to ruin Kirishima's confidence in himself with less than a month until the sport carnival.

"No? Alright no sweat man. Maybe next time 'kay?"

"Maybe." Replied Shouto, noticing Midoriya tucking his hands behind his back.

"I think a going on a run would be beneficial to you right now." Suggested Midoriya. "It will increase your endurance and that's always important for transformation-type quirks."

"Oh yeah, you're totally right. Thanks man. Catch ya later!"

As Kirishima took off in a sprint Shouto took the chance to get a better look at Midoriya's hand. Once again, his right index finger was that nauseating shade of burgundy. Internal bleeding. If the injury had been caused by Kirishima's quirk, there would definitely be signs of external injury. Kirishima hadn't even broken the skin of Midoriya's finger on impact. Strange of an emitter-type quirk to simultaneously injure and protect its user.

"Sorry about that." Apologised Midoriya, once he noticed Shouto nonchalant glance.

"Your finger." Replied Shouto.

"Ah, yeah… Kirishima is pretty strong, isn't he?"

Shouto considered his response to the Beta's lie. If he told Midoriya he was aware that he was lying, and that his injury was caused by his body rejecting his quirk he might be able to help. Helping each other was something friends did, was it not? That did bring the question of why Midoriya was even lying in the first place, it didn't seem to have any malicious intent behind it. So, what was the point of trying to credit Kirishima's abilities?

"You injured your finger." Said Shouto once more.

"I guess I did."

"No, you injured your finger."

Shouto guessed that Midoriya's silence was a sign the Beta finally understood what he was trying to say.

"It sometimes happens when I use my quirk."

"I see."

"I know I'm not as experienced as most people here, but I'm training hard to prove I deserve to be here."

On second thought it appeared that Midoriya had misinterpreted his statement as a means of invalidating the Beta's abilities. It seemed as though he didn't have a choice.

"Midoriya." Shouto paused, unsure of how to phrase his statement so it didn't sound like an accusation. "Why does your body reject your quirk?"

Shouto cringed inwardly at his failure to word the statement gently, the shift in Midoriya's expression to that same look of fear from the entrance exam was only too telling.

"W-well my quirk… My quirk was…" Started Midoriya. "Given to me by someone. I was born quirkless."

"I see." Replied Shouto, for once he was thankful for his stoicism, at least his lack of surprise wouldn't come off as suspicious to Midoriya.

"Please don't tell the rest of the group. I told Kacchan but he's the only one besides you who knows."

"I won't."

"T-t-thank you, but is it that obvious?"

"No. You should see recovery girl about your finger before it interferes with your training further."

"Oh… Don't worry it'll be fine." Reassure Midoriya.

Following his gaze, Midoriya realised that the nauseating burgundy was now a more subtle shade of brown, indicating minor bruising. Strange.

"I had a similar issue when I was younger. I thought I might be able to help." Offered Shouto.

"Really?"

"Training helps."

Focusing on collecting oxygen molecules in the air, Shouto extended his left arm and cupped his palm. A familiar warmth soon danced along his fingertips as a small flame appeared. It had been a while since he'd shown someone the fire side of his quirk but given how much he knew about Midoriya's situation Shouto knew it was only fair.

"Wait what?!" Exclaimed Midoriya. "I thought your quirk was based on controlling temperature. How can you simultaneously control ice and fire-based quirks without compromising the ability of the other? Not to mention the strain on your body to maintain a functional temperature…"

Shouto watched as Midoriya ran over to his backpack, retrieving a familiar looking notebook.

"You don't mind, do you? I already wrote a page about you, but I like to keep my information up to date." Asked Midoriya, examining the flame from different angles while jotting down notes.

"I don't mind."

Once Midoriya had finally closed his notebook, Shouto allowed the flame in his hand to extinguish.

"I don't use my left side much." Explained Shouto. "I injured myself with it a lot when I was a child. Almost like my body was rejecting it."

"You mentioned training, right?"

"Yes."

"Can you teach me?"


	11. Chapter 11

Shouto stared idly at his reflection in the mirror on the back of his locker's door. Once again, he was wearing the Prussian blue uniform. It was one of the aspects of the sports carnival that seemed odd to him, since the challenges seemed more like hero work than a practical class based on the footage Midoriya has shown the group. Shouto supposed that the reason the school didn't allow them to wear their hero costumes would be to prevent anyone from gaining an unfair advantage, but that made no sense either as everyone designed their costumes to maximise the abilities of their quirk. Instead he suspected that the reason boiled down to the simple fact that U.A. wanted to catch the attention of channel jumpers with the signature garb.

He closed the locker with a soft click. Looking around the locker room, his classmates were all strewn about on benches and folding chairs. The sound of nervous chatter filling the room with topics of stage fright and performance anxiety. His eyes soon found their way to a familiar curled mess of green hair, as he noticed Midoriya sat to the side of Iida and Kirishima. The latter two of the three seemingly involved in a heated discussion over whether the first challenge would be an obstacle course or scavenger hunt; with Kirishima quite evidently in favour of the obstacle course. Midoriya on the other hand was preoccupied with his well-worn notebook, glancing up now and again between frantic scribbling to encase his index finger with a familiar emerald static.

* * *

"You should focus on distributing your quirk evenly on each finger individually and then slowly letting is dissipate." Instructed Shouto.

He demonstrated by producing a candle-sized flame from each finger on his left hand, followed by encasing each of his right fingertips in jagged case of ice. Midoriya nodded affirmatively, before encasing his entire right forearm with the signature green of his quirk.  
Shouto opened his mouth to correct the Beta; but it seemed it was unnecessary, as upon noticing his gesture Midoriya suppressed a majority of his display. Concentrating his quirk so that the static progressed down his arm slowly.

Shouto watched intently as Midoriya grasped his emitting forearm in an attempt to steady it. The hissing of the lightning growing louder as the area it covered gradually grew smaller, Midoriya's brow creasing and his stance widening as his footing grew increasingly less stable.

"Midoriya-" Shouto started, as Midoriya was knocked backwards and the lightning extended back up his forearm before gradually crackling into nothingness.

"Sorry…" Said Midoriya, flashing a sheepish smile.

"It's okay." Stated Shouto, unsure if the Beta picked up on the confusion that laced his voice. "You were fine, but you're emitting your quirk backwards."

"Backwards?"

"Yes. With emitter quirks you are meant to begin by using a tiny portion of your quirk and utilising more of it depending on how much is necessary. By generating the full capacity of your quirk and then trying to force it into an increasingly smaller area puts you and those nearby at risk of serious injury." Explained Shouto.

He demonstrated once more, slowly encasing his fingers in a crystalline cover of ice which continued to grow steadily up his right forearm, the jagged formations coming to a stop at his shoulder. Shouto checked to make sure Midoriya had seen the demonstration before allowing it to shatter into specks of glimmering dust.

Midoriya nodded, looking thoughtfully at his right hand as he stretched his fingers experimentally. A single bolt danced from his thumb to his index finger, before disappearing in a small shower of scattered sparks.

"Good. Now try transferring it across each of your fingertips." Instructed Shouto. "I believe you did something similar in one of Mr. Aizawa's classes, if I remember correctly."

"O-oh!"

It seemed as though Shouto's comment had startled the boy as the green sparks emitted by this thumb dissipated.

"I tried to focus as much of my quirk into a single finger, but I activated it backwards. I ended up completely shattering my finger, like you said." Explained Midoriya. "Mrs. Recovery Girl said the nerve damage was so bad that even with her quirk it'd take at least a month until I would able to feel anything with it again."

Shouto watched as Midoriya tucked his right hand behind himself once more.

"So that's why you concentrated your quirk into that same finger again against Kirishima? A strategy to minimise the pain you would feel?"

"No. It's a bad habit." Said Midoriya, glancing to the side awkwardly. "I mean I don't enjoy breaking my fingers at all, my handwriting is really messy because of it and I have trouble holding my cutlery, which is why I'm always eating behind my notebook. I case I drop food on myself because then it's easier to hide and…"

As Midoriya continued his ramblings, Shouto found his expression soften once more. Even though he hadn't asked the Beta to explain his actions in so much detail it was rather nice to have the air filled with the sound of frantic chatter than awkward silence.

"Midoriya, Todoroki!" Called Uraraka, scaling down a nearby tree trunk.

She was followed by Iida who dropped down from the neighbouring tree, landing steadily on his feet as a small dust cloud expanded around his calved.

"We've successfully completed our survey of the forest." Affirmed Iida, directing a small bow in Midoriya's general direction. "We are pleased to report that it has approximately two rivers, eight wide clearings similar in fashion to this one and the rest is densely packed trees that wouldn't be suitable for training except stealth exercises."

"Oh, thanks Iida, I should be able to plan out the next few weeks easily with this information. You two definitely have quirks that are great for scouting, I appreciate you taking the time to do this." Said Midoriya, accepting the neatly drawn map Iida handed him. "I think that's everything we needed to get done today, it's best that we don't train any further to avoid prolonged fatigue."

"Indeed." Agreed Iida "I shall see you all tomorrow in class then I presume?"

"Yep! See you tomorrow then." Said Uraraka, waving to the trio before walking off in the general direction of U.A.

"Goodbye." Said Iida, passing an acknowledging nod in the duo's direction.

"Thanks." Said Midoriya to Shouto "I'm really grateful for the help. You don't mind helping me out a bit more do you? I'm not really sure what you'd need help with since you're basically good at everything but let me know if there's anything I can do to return the favour."

"I don't mind helping you some more." Replied Shouto "No one should have to suffer injures because of their own quirk."

"Right! Well I'll see you tomorrow then, call me if you want to ask me anything, I already told the rest of the group to do the same, but it never hurts to remind people."

"Sure."

* * *

"I can't believe ya just left me all along in the woods like that!" Huffed Kirishima, holding his head in his hands in defeat.

"I'm sorry Kirishima, I didn't mean to." Apologised Midoriya, patting the redhead's back in a gesture of comfort. "I honestly forgot-"

"Ya forgot 'bout me?!"

"N-no, not like that, it's just I was tired from our fight because you were quite a difficult opponent, so I wasn't really thinking…"

"Oh, right! Well that's alright then. Sorry for going all out at ya like that. It's just I'm kinda bad with directions so I got a bit lost."

"This wouldn't have been a problem if you had just called us using your phone." Added Iida

"Hello." Greeted Shouto, walking over to the trio and taking a seat next to Iida.

Midoriya's posture becoming noticeably less tense at his arrival. Most likely since the air seemed to lighten with his presence, Kirishima and Iida both falling silent before their argument could escalate further.

"Back to the matter at hand." Said Iida, clearing his throat. "We're about to partake in the first event of the sports carnival."

"Yes." Replied Shouto.

"Yeah I'm really pumped!" Cheered Kirishima.

"It's U.A.'s Sports Festival! The one time each year when our fledgling heroes compete in a ruthless grand battle!" Came the muffled voice of Present Mic through the walls of the locker room.

"I think that's our cue." Said Midoriya

"Yeah let's go!" Replied Kirishima, punching the air one last time before running off in the direction of the exit.

* * *

The festival's stadium was similar to U.A.'s training stadium but featured a rather prominent array of stands. All of which were completely packed with a cheering audience, some holding signs with student's face and others wearing cheap replicas of U.A.'s tracksuit top. Most likely parents and former graduates.

Parents.

Shouto was then struck with a heaviness in his chest as a suffocating feeling made its way down to his stomach and settled, coiling itself into a tangle of dread. Endeavor. His father. Was going to watch these events unfold. No, not over a live broadcast. That was beneath him. Without a doubt his father had reserved the best seats the stadium had to offer and would be intently watching his every move.

He had been so focused on training for the event with his newfound friends that he'd completely forgotten about his father's existence. Let alone his earlier display of defiance he'd shown at the entrance exam. This was bad. He needed to avoid drawing attention to himself, but given how "showy", as Kirishima had described it, his quirk was that was impossible. Present Mic would without a doubt focus a majority of the event commentary on him, making it all the easier for his father to evaluate his performance and discuss his mistakes accordingly in private once the carnival was over. He needed to place first or else…

"Todoroki are you okay?" Whispered Midoriya to his right. "I'm feeling rather cold and you seem quiet. Well more quiet than usual, not that it's a bad thing I mean I'm not exactly the most talkative either…"

"Yes, I'm fine. Thank you for asking." Replied Shouto, shaking his mind free from its daze. The dryness of his mouth now apparent as his broke his feet out of the ice shackles they had disappeared under. Curse his childhood habits.

"I'm glad." Replied Midoriya softly. "Anyway, let's go, they just gave the call for all of us to line up for the first event."

Shouto followed the hoard of students as they formed a line to exit the stadium to one of the neighbouring arenas. The area is question, was an abrupt change from the barren dirt flooring of the previous one, he only notable feature being the large square stone slab in the middle. Instead this arena seemed like a centre-stage of sorts with multiple gates situated around it. Presumably branching off to other arenas where the rest of the events would take place. As expected of an educational facility with U.A.'s level of funding.

A large metal gate currently covered the entrance, with a traffic light-like board at the top displaying an illuminated red bulb. It seemed that his group, like him, was trapped behind a crowd of students made up of the other ten classes currently undergoing their hero training at U.A. Glancing over to the left electronic display board, the words "OBSTACLE COURSE RACE" glided their way across it in a repetitive manner. It seemed that Kirishima had been right after all, Shouto couldn't help but wonder what agreement the two had made between them to settle this argument. Especially since they had been so vocal about their opinions for the past month, Iida even compiling a folder of statistic to prove that the first event would, undeniably, be a scavenger hunt.

"Can ya' believe they got Bakugo ta' give the Athelete's Oath?" Jeered Kirishima, noticing Todoroki and Mirodiya walk up behind him. "Asshole Alpha kept braggin' about how he was gonna come first. I betcha he just said that 'cause he forgot the actual speech."

"As arrogant as Bakugo was, I don't think he forgot the speech. Unlike you he actually maintains decent grades." Corrected Iida, huffing at the redhead's outburst.

"Oh so ya defending him now are ya?! I thought ya were one our side."

"I'm not defending him, I'm just trying to prevent a fight before the actual tournament phase. Save it for the arena, if you fight well you can resolve whatever issues you have with him personally."

Shouto relaxed slightly, it was rather amusing to watch the conflicting personalities of Iida and Kirishima clash. While it wasn't much, but at least it helped distract him from the looming fact that his father was judging him rather intently from somewhere among the crowd.

"Racers, to your positions…" Announced the seductive voice of Midnight

Not needing any further cues, Shouto resumed his starting stance, and formed a thin sheet of ice over the soles of his shoes. Mr. Aizawa had made it very clear to them in their final homeroom class before the festival that there were no restrictions on quirk usage. At last he'd be able to freeze the entire arena and claim it as his domain.

"Goodluck." Whispered Midoriya the group

"Ey right back at ya!" Cheered Kirishima

"Indeed, the best to all of you as well." Nodded Iida, before returning his focus to powering the engines on his calves.

Shouto let out a frost-laden sigh, it wouldn't be fair on his friends to sabotage their performance. It was fine. He could still win this race with his suboptimal strategy, his performance in Mr. Aizawa's classes was proof of that. He was going to win this race and he was going to do it on his own terms. Not his father's, not U.A's, his.

"Start!" Announced Midnight as a siren blared and the gates creaked open.

Right on cue the mob of students started rushing towards the gates, and Shouto found himself behind pushed forward slightly as students shoved past each other in their haste. Todoroki looked around frantically, hoping to catch sight of one of his group members to no avail. Even Kirishima and Midoriya had completely vanished among the hoard.

"Dammit…" Sighed an apathetic voice.

Looking ahead of himself, Shouto noticed a purple-haired boy sit himself up off the ground, blood dripping from his nose as his wiped at it idly with his forearm.

"Are you alright?" Asked Shouto, gliding over to the boy and extending his hand.

"Fine. Thanks." Replied the boy taking his hand and getting to his feet. "Name's Shinsou. Shinso Hitoshi. My quirk's alright, I guess, unfortunately it won't do much to stop some jackasses who feel like shoving you over because of some damn race."

"I see."

"Anyway, we should get going, don't want to fall behind this early on. I'll see you around then…?"

"Todoroki Shouto."

"Well see you around then Todoroki. Be careful out there."

Shouto let out another frost-laden sigh as he continued into the arena. His father would not be pleased with this development. The arena the gate lead out into appeared to be a rather generic track, Shouto continued to note its features as he sprinted past, noting what he could about his surroundings as the scenery blurred into lines of green above the grey concrete of the wall.

"Every obstacle course needs obstacles!" Came the muffled announcement of Present Mic as a familiar rumbling shook the ground beneath Shouto's feet. "The first barrier robo inferno!"

Shouto ceased his restraint and allowed himself to cover the entirety of the area in front of him in a thin sheet of ice. Since there was no one in range behind or in front of him he supposed he'd make an exception since no one's performance would be hindered from this.

Racing ahead he soon discovered exactly what Present Mic had meant by "robo inferno", or at least what was left of it.

Piles of singed scrap metal lay scattered along the sides of the track barriers, with slightly smaller piles blocking the rest of the track and a considerable gathering of students strewn about in hushed conversation.

"There're kids pinned under there!" Exclaimed a student among one of the groups

"They've gotta be dead! I didn't know we could be killed during this thing!" Commented another

"1-A's Kirishima was crushed!" Came Present Mic's commentary, as if to answer Shouto's question.

"Dead? As if!" Growled Kirishima as he emerged out of the wreckage in his stone-like form. "I can't believe that asshole Alpha, I'll get 'im back for that one!"

"Kirishima." Greeted Shouto, approaching the Beta.

"Oh hey man, wassup? Did something happen to ya? I didn't see you earlier, thought you got ahead with the asshole Alpha and the rest of the group."

"Something happened."

"All good man, we should. Tell me 'bout it when we get outta here alright? We should totally team up from here on out, wadda ya say?"

"Sure."

[A/N: Sorry for the wait, life happens sometimes and I think we all know how that goes, especially for fic writers. I'm more active on AO3 so feel free to check me out there if you're interested in hearing my commentaries on the story. If not, I hope that you're enjoying the story as always. :)]


	12. Chapter 12

Teaming up with Kirishima had definitely been the right decision on Shouto's part. Thanks to Midoriya's training plan he was now able to carve through the metal piles blocking the rest of the track. Although Shouto could have just as easily frozen himself a path above the wreckage and continued on his own, he was able to converse energy this way. Instead his role was to watch Kirishima's back to make sure they were not ambushed by any of the nearby students out of spite.

"Did ya see the lil' guy rush ahead? I haven't seen 'im at all." Commented Kirishima, as he continued to tunnel through.

"No." Replied Shouto, his focus directed at making sure the small flame in his left hand didn't ignite anything flammable in the wreckage as he lit up the tunnel Kirishima had hollowed out.

"Still can't believe Bakugo, what a dick. He handled the zero pointers alright, well better than alright, blew 'em to bits.

But he could've crushed da rest of us.

Well not me of course heh."

"We should hurry."

"Oh right, right.

Kinda forgot this was a race."

Once Kirishima struck light, Shouto immediately redirected his focus to the remaining moisture in the ground of the racetrack.

"Let's go,"

"Huh? Whaddaya mean-?"

Grabbing Kirishima's wrist, Shouto formed a sheet of ice around the Beta's shoes, ensuring they were more durable than the thin lining he form on the soles of his own shoes.

Kirishima wouldn't be able to maintain it so he had to make sure it was enough to resist the heat from the friction of the journey or else he'd be left stranded on Shouto's ice path.

"We need to catch up." Explained Shouto, surprised that with such a competitive spirit this revelation wasn't obvious to Kirishima.

Summoning a small column of ice to his right, Shouto grabbed it, checking to make sure he still had a firm grip on Kirishima's wrist before propelling himself off it.

* * *

Midoriya stared at the rock columns that lay before him, only wire-reinforced rope bridged between each one with a standard-issue square bolted anchors securing them to the rocks. Beneath them was a seemingly endless black abyss.

"Quite the change of scenery isn't it?" Joked Uraraka, her complexion growing considerably paler as she continued to stare down at the seemingly endless fall.

"Don't worry Uraraka, your quirk was made for this obstacle." Reassured Midoriya.

"Thank you. You always know just what to say Midoriya."

"He's right Uraraka, you could jump over the entire obstacle with no difficulty." Commented Iida

"Well I don't mind taking you two with me." Offered Uraraka, tapping the bottom on her shoes.

"Thank you for the kind offer, however, I wish to complete this obstacle using my own abilities." Explained Iida "My brother will be watching, and I want to show him how much I've grown as a hero."

"Thank you as well Uraraka, but I also want to prove that I have what it takes to be here at U.A."

"That's alright, I understand. I'll see you both on the other side then."

Midoriya watched as Uraraka made her first jump. He smiled, giving her a thumbs up when he noticed her turning around awkwardly after her landing. His smile widening as he noticed the colour slowly return to her face and her attention return to the task ahead of her.

Unfortunately, his quirk was not as well suited to this challenge. He could try concentrating One for All into his feet and emulating her jumps, but even with Todoroki's help he'd still risk fracturing his ankles and incapacitating himself for the rest of the festival.

Which just meant.

Midoriya let himself inhale deeply through his nose and exhale slowly through his mouth. He could do this. All Might had placed his complete trust in him, now it was his turn to do the same.

The instructions from Present Mic were just to get to the other side without falling. Knowing U.A.'s testing methods, this meant that the ropes had been secured adequately so that students with unsuited quirks could use them to safely complete the obstacle. Also, his exact working had been "if you fall, you're out", this meant that there were safety measures in place to prevent serious injury or death to the students. Most likely a safety net at the bottom that would catch students if they fell and alert the staff to eliminate them from the festival.

Tightening the straps that secured the metal plate, that had he'd grabbed from the wreckage of the first obstacle to his back, Midoriya took another deep breath before focusing a tiny bit of One for All into his fingers so they hummed with a faint green tinge. He made sure it stayed there, gently flowing through them and filling his hands with energy.

It was all he needed for this task.

* * *

"Todoroki, slow down man, I think I'm gonna be sick…" Protested Kirishima as he flailed aimlessly behind Shouto.

"We're almost there, please stop moving so frantically it makes it difficult for me to maintain the ice and I don't want to drop you." Explained Shouto, growing increasingly frustrated with the Beta's antics.

If anything, it was Kirishima's endless moving that had caused his nausea in the first place, not the speed at which they were traveling. Although he was capable of reaching speeds similar to that of a car, he had taken care to only travel at half that speed to prevent injuring Kirishima and impacting his performance in future events.

Another frost-filled sigh found its way past his lips as he noticed another large gathering of students. Finally.

"Kirishima, can you please activate your quirk to help slow us down?" Asked Shouto. "We're here."

"Oh, sure thing man, never thought you would ask!" Replied Kirishima, suddenly full of enthusiasm despite his earlier nausea.

So, it appeared their next obstacle was a series of tightropes. Then again knowing U.A. students weren't necessarily expected to use the tightropes.

Another ice platform would easily bridge across the canyon. As much as Shouto hated to admit it, the festival had been rather underwhelming so far.

The school had simply reused robots from the entrance exam as the first obstacle and now had provided their students with a second challenge that could easily be overcome with minimal effort.

Even though he had started at the back of the group, Shouto was confident that he and Kirishima were now sitting quite comfortably in the top 20 places. Perhaps this event wasn't a lost cause after all.

"Well thanks for the ride man, but I think I've got it from here. Gotta finish this thing on my own. See ya at the finish line 'kay?"

"Of course.

Thank you for your help." Replied Shouto, nodding affirmatively.

* * *

"Our leader has reached the final barrier! That is to say this minefield! It's a deadly Afghan Carpet!" Came Present Mic's muffled announcement

"Haha! This crap can't slow me down!" Proclaimed Bakugo, as he ran ahead, leaving a cloud of explosions in his wake.

A shrill beeping filled the air as the ground erupted underneath Bakugo. Midoriya watched as the Alpha just smirked, using the blasts from the explosions to supplement his own, only acting to accelerate Bakugo further across the minefield.

Midoriya held his right wrist tenderly in his left hand as he rolled it, flexing his fingers in an attempt to regain some sense of feeling in them. Crawling over the canyon in the last obstacle by using his legs to secure himself and inching his way across with his arms while hauling a plate of metal on his back had not been easy. He had been lucky. Thankfully, his estimates had been correct, and he'd selected the shortest path across.

It hadn't been much, but it'd been enough for him to not fall behind the more advantaged students. Now this minefield was all that lay between him and completing the race.

Even though Present Mic had described the stretch as a "deadly Afghan carpet" he could already see mines sticking haphazardly out of the group, little effort made to properly bury them. It seemed the challenge here could be interpreted in two ways. Students could choose to run across the minefield and avoid the bombs at all costs, or they could utilise them to propel themselves across.

Unfastening the metal plate from his back, Midoriya took a chance to stretch his shoulders.

It was time to take a page from Kacchan's book.

* * *

Shouto glanced at the sudden widening of the track that lay ahead of him in the distance.

There was no large gathering of students around the start of it, only a few students scattered about along the edges.

Since he hadn't passed that may students in his haste, this was undoubtedly the beginning of the third obstacle. Based on the width of the field, Shouto guessed that it was a minefield, the faint sign displaying "Danger Mines!" only further confirming his suspicions.

Since this was a sports festival, he doubted the mines would be powerful enough to severely injure the students and this was a stealth mission of sorts. This left the obstacle open to the possibility that if he traveled across it fast enough the mines would not be sensitive enough to activate.

Continuing past the small gathering of students, Shouto continued his ice path onto the field.

He slowed down slightly upon noticing a familiar mess of green hair. Midoriya. How did he manage to get this far ahead? He wasn't weak by any means, but Midoriya's quirk wasn't specialised for mobility even with his advice. Midoriya had failed to notice his presence, and seemed preoccupied in digging at the ground, as evident by the small pile of land mines that lay off to the side of him.

Shouto was unsure how Midoriya had managed to collect so many without setting a single one-off but that was none of his concern. As much as he wanted to greet his friend, Shouto decided against it, the last thing he wanted to do was distract Midoriya and erase his progress, or worse, injure him and incapacitate him for the rest of the festival. No. His goal for now was to finish the course. Formalities could be exchanged later.

Shouto continued to pave the ground with a thin sheet of ice. A shrill beeping suddenly sounded from under his feet, growing more rapid as he skidded off to the side moment before the ground where he had been standing mere moments ago erupted, flinging knife-like shards of ice upwards around the explosion radius. It appeared that he had been wrong with his previous assumption. U.A. had made sure their mines were sensitive enough to pick up on even slight movements. Which once again raised the question of how Midoriya has managed to gather so many of them.

He would have to ask his friend once the race had concluded, it seemed like he'd have to finish this section of the course on foot. Thankfully U.A. had taken little effort to hide the locations of the mines, with portions of them lying above ground, or crude dirt piles marking them.

Although Bakugo was aided by the minefield, the distance between him and Shouto was gradually beginning to close, the Alpha's explosion continuing to decrease in intensity as the finish line came into view. Something was limiting his quirk. Interesting.

"Don't even think 'bout it!" Shouto heard the Alpha hiss as he reached him.

Shouto was tempted to summon an ice column in front of Bakugo in hopes he'd crash into it while the Alpha was preoccupied with him. Surely, he wasn't alone with his wishful thinking.

Just as Shouto was about to ease the moisture in the air into a solid-state, the air was filled with an all too familiar symphony of shrill beeping before a thunderous explosion filled the air and the ground shuddered momentarily.

"A giant explosion from behind?! What caused such a blast?!" Exclaimed Present Mic over the announcement system.

Midoriya. So that's why he had been gathering all those mines. Shouto had to admit he was impressed. The Beta had undoubtedly been inspired by Bakugo's use of the hazard, refining his strategy to concentrate the explosions to maximise the distance traveled.

Bakugo had ceased running, a glowering expression adorning his face. Taking advantage of Midoriya's distraction Shouto broke into a sprint, first place wasn't out of his reach just yet. His vision tunneling in on the metal gates as they drew closer.

Out forming under his feet out of instinct. The sound of explosions filling the air behind him. Whether they were from the minefield or Bakugo was unknown to him.

Not that it mattered at this point.

"And Midoriya blows off the competition with no time to lose!" Came the second announcement.

Shouto watched the Beta descend from the sky, a wire weighed down by a metal plate dragging him through the air as he clutched it. At this rate he'd injure himself on impact when landing. Exhaling yet another small cloud of frost he summoned a near-transparent layer of ice over the wire, hopefully it wouldn't show up on camera.

That way a majority of the shock would be absorbed by the metal plate once it hit the ground and there was no risk of it rebounding and injuring the Beta. Midoriya has earnt his first place.

* * *

"Midoriya that was amazing!" Complimented Uraraka, rushing up to greet the duo as she made her way through the gate into the main arena. "You too Todoroki."

"Thanks!" Replied Midoriya. "Are you alright? I lost sight of you after the second obstacle."

"I'm fine. Don't worry, I just had to catch my breath after using my quirk that much. I finished 16th which isn't too bad."

"You all did well." Commented Iida, contrary to the look of disappointment he held on his face.

"Sixth place is amazing as well, I'm sure your brother is proud."

"Thank you Uraraka." Replied Iida, his expression softening a little.

"Ya guys didn't forget 'bout me did ya?" Exclaimed Kirishima, a familiar shark-toothed grin on his face.

"Of course not, you did really well!" Reassured Midoriya

"Damn right I did!

Not as well as you, but hey I'll take ninth."

"The top 42 from this qualifying round will move on!" Announced Midnight

"Hold up, that was da qualifiers?!"

"It would appear so." Said Iida, straightening his glasses.

"Also, ya owe me a bag of snacks."

"I do?"

"Yeah ya do!

Remember da bet we made? I said it'd be an obstacle course so pay up man. And I don't mean a lil' bag, I mean a shopping bag full! Like we agreed 'kay?"

"Thank you, for earlier." Said Midoriya quietly, nodding knowing at Shouto.

Shouto responded with an acknowledging nod.

"Now on to the second event! I already know what it is of course… Dying in suspense?! Next up is this!" Announced Midnight directing everyone's attention to an electronic display board with the words Cavalry Battle lit up in bold, black font. "Participants will, on their own, form teams of two to four members each and get into a horse-and-rider formation. The rules are the same and so is the goal of snagging your opponent's headbands while guarding you own."

"Sounds simple enough." Commented Iida

"Especially compared to the first event." Continued Uraraka

"And your individual point values on your headband is determined where you placed in the first event.

So, the student who took 42nd place is worth five points, but… Our first-place participant is worth 10 million points!"

"Hey are ya okay lil' guy? Your face is kinda pale." Asked Kirishima, patting the Beta's back in an attempt to coax some form of response out of him.

"Midoriya you must be under a lot of pressure right now." Said Iida, a sense of comfort in his voice.

"Don't worry Midoriya, we'll team up with you!" Reassured Uraraka, punching the air in a displace of enthusiasm

"Yes. Don't worry." Said Shouto

Hopefully his words had come across as comforting rather than patronising. He'd have to practice alternative his tone of voice once the festival was over.

"Hey, wait a second!"

Protested Kirishima "There's four of us, and four plus one is five. Which means…"

"One of us is going to have to do on a different team." Finished Shouto, glancing up into the audience expecting to see the scowl of his father among the audience in the front row.

"I'll go." Said Kirishima, gesturing to himself proudly "You guys take care of Midoriya for me 'kay."

"Kirishima…" Started Midoriya

"Hey, don't worry 'bout it man. I got this 'kay."

"We should come up with a strategy." Suggested Iida, as Kirishima disappeared into the crowd of students "Our team will be worth the most points, so we should prepare to get targeted a lot. Any ideas?"

* * *

"Hey Eijiro, it's been a while hasn't it?"

"Hitoshi?!"

[A/N: Hello again, hopefully you enjoyed chapter 12! I know barely anyone is reading my fic on this site, but that's alright, I'll keep uploading here as long as I have one reader. X'D Like I said I'm more active on AO3, but if you do have any questions or comments about the fic feel free to send me a review or PM, I respond to everything and am always happy to hear from my readers. :) Anyway see you again for chapter 13.]


	13. Chapter 13

"I'm surprised you haven't learned. After all you have had previous experiences with my quirk. You should know better than to reply when I ask a question by now." Sighed Shinso, his expression shifting into something half resembling pity. "I believe we have quite a few things to talk about. Not that you have a choice of course."

Kirishima stared blankly through Shinso, his eyes staring out into the distance behind the Alpha.

"Now if you would be so kind, tell me; how exactly is my quirk evil?"

"H-hey man, I didn't think ya quirk was evil or anything, it's just I felt weird being around ya, you know?" Responded Kirishima

Shinso couldn't help but be amused at the sight, even when under the effects of a mind control quirk Eijiro didn't drop the cursed accent. As humorous as the sight of his former friend was, he had come for answers and he was going to get them. Was it petty of him to enslave the Beta's mind in broad daylight, in the middle of a packed stadium while potentially being broadcasted on national television? Perhaps. Then again Eijiro was just a victim of circumstance, how could the Beta have possibly known they'd be attending the same high school. Fate was a bitch. And for once it wasn't him on the downwards facing side of the coin.

"Well man, when we were kids I-"

"Hey Shitty-hair, the hell you doing talking to this support class freak? Did shitty quirkless Deku and his bunch of extras dump you for being braindead?!" Came the obnoxious taunting.

Shinso cursed inwardly as he felt his focus break. Dammit.

"Hey ya braindead Beta, did ya hear me or do I need to need to repeat myself?"

"H-huh?! What the hell do you want ya asshole Alpha?"

"Listen here because I'm not gonna repeat myself. You're going to be on my team and use your second-rate quirk while I sit on your shoulders and kick that damn Deku off his high horse!"

"I'm not going to be part of your damn team. I'm trying to protect the lil' guy, not kill him!"

"You don't have a choice, everyone else is already on a team. You're gonna be on my damn team or you can take a seat on the benches like the little bitch you are!"

"Hey Hitoshi, can I be on your team man?" Asked Kirishima behind gritted teeth.

"Sorry Eijiro, I already have a team." Replied Shinso, cringing inwardly at his feigned sincerity.

"Heh, it's settled then, I'm gonna tear that shitty Beta to pieces and you're gonna help me every step of the way." Snarled Bakugo, shooting an all too familiar glare into the crowd of students.

* * *

"Why did they have to go and total the team points onto a single band?!" Spluttered Midoriya, catching the cotton ribbon Midnight absently threw at him.

"It does make sense. This is a team exercise after all." Replied Iida. "This way if we fail to work as a team, we're all penalised.'

"It'll be alright." Reassured Uraraka, as she tightened the double-knotted laces of her sneakers. "Like you said, Iida and I have quirks that are perfect for this challenge. Not to mention the other teams won't even be able to touch the hair on your head since we've got Todoroki!"

"Thanks, Uraraka… But I'm just a little nervous. Sorry."

"She's right. We'll all make it to the third stage of the festival." Added Shouto. "I can promise you that."

"Since you're going to be the one wearing the headband, it's only fair we let you decide what positions we all get." Continued Iida. "We only have 10 minutes left before the event starts, so we should make the most of it."

"Right." Said Midoriya, nodding firmly. "Iida and Uraraka, you two are used to racing each other and shouldn't have much trouble keeping an equal pace. Since Todoroki doesn't have a mobility-specialised quirk he should be at the front, so he doesn't fall behind. You don't mind, do you Todoroki?"

"Not at all. Like you said, my quirk is suited for countering incoming attacks, so it will be easier for me to attack and defend if I'm at the front. It's a sound strategy."

As expected, all the Beta needed was a bit of encouragement from his peers and he was back to the analytic strategist Shouto knew. So, this was one of the benefits of friendship Fuyumi had been talking about. Odd that his father never bothered to explain it to him if it could boost one's combat abilities to this degree.

"We should prioritise running. Stay out of range and let them fight each other." Suggested Iida

"I'm not sure if I can maintain my quirk for that long, especially if I have to support three people and myself." Apologised Uraraka.

"Not to mention they're all going to tunnel-vision onto us anyway. If they get our headband it's a free ticket to the final round of the festival." Added Midoriya. "We should play on the defensive."

"Like setting traps?"

"Good idea Uraraka." Complimented Midoriya

"I think I can handle that."

"We'll leave it to you then Todoroki."

Following Uraraka and Iida's lead, Shouto stood himself between the two, crouching slightly as they each placed an arm on his shoulders and Midoriya made himself comfortable. He was sure that his father was displeased that his prodigy son has decided to take a backseat in this event rather than commanding a team of his own and claiming every headband in the arena. But for some reason the thought weighed less on his mind that it normally would. Maybe it was just that fact that now a majority of his stress for the next 30 minutes was going to be caused by the mass of students who would undoubtedly be swarming them at their change for their golden ticket of a headband; or maybe it was this odd feeling of… Anticipation?

There was something oddly thrilling about the idea of being everyone's top pick for a fight after endless classes of being forced to use his abilities as instructed without a hint of independent thought. Well not exactly, but like Midoriya had said, his role was to be the offensive powerhouse of the team; and that was what he did best. Finally, a chance to get creative with his quirk.

"Your 15 minutes are up. Time to get started." Announced Midnight, an image of her performing basic arm stretches illuminating the large screens scattered about the arena.

She fired a seductive wink directly at the camera one last time before the focus shifted off her and back into the masses of students, each group now organised into their starting positions.

Shouto was about to confirm with Iida if there was a signal or not, but the blaring over the loudspeakers answered the question for him.

"Alright let's do this!" Cheered Uraraka.

Less than 10 seconds after the announcement, that a sinking sensation under his feet startled Shouto. It seemed as though his team had not been the only one to consider the use of quirk-based traps. Glancing down Shouto noticed the ground surrounding the team had been changed into a quicksand-like substance. Additional moisture would not be too difficult to fix. Focusing on the freshly added water Shouto condensed it using his right hand, clenching his fist before opening his hand and pushing it outwards. A nostalgic sense of satisfaction filling him as an ice wall erupted out of the ground, forcing an incoming group to skid to a halt just before the outmost reaching spikes of ice. Perhaps it was a little excessive for an opening attack, but at least the quicksand had been converted into regular sand.

"Thanks." Said Iida, his voice accompanied by the sound of dust spluttering from the exhausts on his calves.

Shouto nodded in response, the Alpha would understand his reason for not turning to face him.

"Incoming, on the left!" Warned Midoriya

"Roger that!" Replied Uraraka, changing the direction of her strides to match Iida's.

"Deku get over here you shitty Beta!" Yelled Bakugo

"Kirishima…"

"Pardon? I think I misheard you Midoriya. I believe that voice belongs to Bakugo" Replied Iida, making a sharp turn to the right to avoid the minefield-like assortment of purple balls that littered the arena.

"Kirishima. He's on Kacchan's team." Repeated Midoriya.

"Oh Midoriya… I'm so sorry to hear that." Replied Uraraka, between changing directions to match Iida. "I'm sure he's not doing it out of spite. He's our friend. We can ask him about it once this is over."

"She's right-" Added Shouto, getting cut off as mustard-coloured flames entered the corner of his line of sight.

"Don't get full of yourself now you bastard! You think ya can run from me just 'cause you got yourself some extras with quirks more useful than your own huh? I'll show you!"

Shouto squinted his left eye closed as the heat and dust from the explosion licked his face. Dammit, not enough time to respond with an ice-based attack. The Alpha was practically on top of them using his explosions to direct himself as he periodically swooped to reach for Midoriya's headband. If he didn't act fast the headband would be Bakugo's and knowing him there was no way in hell they'd get it back once they were forced to join the hoard in the chase for it. He groaned inwardly; he was never going to hear the end of this once his father got a hold of him after the event. Let alone the media once they heard the news. Surely there was another option. There always was. That's what his mother had always said.

Calm down. This was nothing a little bit of ice wouldn't solve. Encasing Bakugo's ankles together with ice would distract him for long enough for them to disappear back into the mass of students and come up with a counterstrategy.

Shouto scanned the surrounding air for any moisture. Nothing. Leave it to fire-based quirks to act like moisture vacuums, it was something his father exploited endlessly to force villains into surrendering. After all, nothing like drying out the air in a villain's hideout to the point of suffocation to flush out the rats. It seemed although Bakugo's quirk was no exception to this rule, if anything its capabilities in this regard exceeded those of his father. Hopefully, the Alpha would be too tunnel-visioned to realise this particular aspect of his quirk and fail to capitalise on it.

There really was no other option. Midoriya's quirk took too long to activate and was too short ranged to do anything truly effective against the Alpha's assaults and Uraraka and Iida were too focused on trying to avoid any more incoming attacks to act offensively. At least now there was an abundance of flammable gases in the air, courtesy of the local hothead.

"Hey Bakugo! Your headband!" Shouto heard a familiar accented voice yell. "You were wearing it around ya neck right?"

"What the hell do ya want ya braindead Beta? Can't ya see I'm busy right now?!"

"Well I was just thinkin' that before ya go after Midoriya's headband we should probably get our's back."

"What do you mean back?! It's right here-"

Shouto watched as Bakugo felt at his forehead, presumably for his headband, before his attention snapped off Midoriya and back onto Kirishima. A new violent aura flaring up from the Alpha as his realisation reignited itself into his signature rage.

"I gave you one job shitty hair and you somehow manage to screw it up again! This isn't over shitty Deku, don't worry you'll get what's coming to you!"

Shouto glanced up to make sure his team's headband was still in place and was just in time to catch Midoriya mouth a silent "thank you" to Kirishima in the corner of his field of vision. He lamented momentarily that he felt too unsure of how to initiate a similar act of gratitude, before resuming his focus on what laid ahead of them. If Iida didn't buy Kirishima that shopping bag full of snacks once the festival was over, Shouto knew he sure as hell would. While he wasn't the most talented academically or quirk-wise the Beta had saved his ass more times than Shouto would ever let him know. Intentional or not, Kirishima had just saved him from a motorway's worth of social media traffic and coverage; and that was more than worth the ¥2000 worth of convenience store snacks the Beta craved.

Thankfully Midoriya still had his headband. It seemed as though many surrounding groups had not been as fortunate and were now frantically feeling at their foreheads and necks in hopes of their missing headbands magically finding their way back into their hands. A stealth-based quirk perhaps?

His gaze snapped upwards as a familiar shade of purple entered right of his field of vision.

"Oh Todoroki, what a nice surprise seeing you here." Greeted Shinso, his dark-rimmed eyes fixed in their bored expression.

Shouto nodded briefly in response before doing his periodic glance over the area.

"Look here, I won't keep you for long. But you're not an asshole like most of your 1-A classmates so I'll tell you this much. Watch out for this one guy from 1-B, you probably noticed already but he'll nab your band if you're not careful. Watch your mouth too. That's all."

Shouto watched as Shinso disappeared back into the crowd once more, the students carrying him moving in a mechanical manner, one foot after the other.

"What was that about?" Asked Uraraka from behind Shouto.

"Don't get distracted." Explained Shouto. "Midoriya?"

"The headband's still here." Confirmed Midoriya.

"Incoming." Added Iida, increasing his speed slightly.

Returning his focus to the task at hand, Shouto whipped his right arm upwards, snapping off the longest icicle growth and throwing it at the ground slightly in front of the foot of the student he recognised as his masked classmate. Slightly too early. It struck his shin rather than foot as intended, leaving a slowly bubbly gash at the point of impact. He was slipping. It would do for the moment, they had bigger problems right now.

Stealth-based quirks usually weren't too much trouble to deal with, but then again, this user was a U.A. student and from the looks of things they definitely knew what they were doing. All the foot traffic of the students chasing after them has churned the sand lining the arena and acted to reintroduce the moisture Bakugo has sucked out of it earlier with his attacks. Focusing on the ground under his right foot, Shouto focused on drawing the surrounding moisture and concentrating it so that it laid just below the surface layer of sand before freezing it. Uraraka would be unaffected, part of her training had been maintaining a footing on frictionless surfaces. Potential attackers, however, would not be so fortunate.

"That's quite a nice quirk you have there."

Shouto's neck snapped around, his nose stopping inches away from a rather snarky looking blonde-haired boy's face.

How did he notice his trap so easily? He had made sure it was completely concealed under and untouched layer of sand.

"Don't mind if I borrow it do you?" Continued the boy, reaching forward with a two-fingered strike.

"Todoroki!" Called Midoriya, bending down to block the strike, as Shouto moved his head backwards and out of the way.

"Don't mind if I do." Mused the boy, as Shouto watched him loop his fingers under Midoriya's headband and pull it off.

Instinctively Shouto clenched his right fist, watching as a tooth trap of ice snared the ankle of the boy's teammate. Dots of purple appearing on of his pant cuffs, slowly leaking outwards. Midoriya taking the opportunity to reach for the headband.

"Nice try." Snickered the boy, leaning back out of reach and throwing a lesser headband back at Midoriya. "A plus for effort."

As if on cue, the ankle of his teammate began rotating as if it was a drill head, effortlessly flinging off the remnants of Shouto's trap.

"Get back here you damn copycat!"

Shouto turned to face the source of the noise and was once again greeted by the sky full of orange and mustard explosions as Bakugo made his descent. The boy scoffing at the sight and raising his right hand to release his own cloud of sunset-coloured explosions, throwing Bakugo backwards and off course. A black-haired boy, presumably Bakugo's other teammate, extending a tape-like ribbon from his elbow to catch Bakugo by the waist and reel him back to the rest of the team. The Alpha's scowl only darkening as his took his seat back on Kirishima and the other boy's shoulders.

Capitalising on Bakugo's distraction, Shouto stamped his right foot on the ground, collecting what moisture he could from the desert-like ground of the arena and condensing it into a discount version of his usual arena structures. It wasn't much, but at least it would prevent his team from getting too far away and increase their chances of recovering enough points to get into the final round.

"5 minutes left!" Announced Midnight over the arena's screens, taking the opportunity to blow a kiss into the main camera before it cut off her once more.

"Uraraka." Said Midoriya under his breath.

"Roger." Came the hushed reply.

So, it had come to this. Shouto let himself exhale a huff of frost; he had failed his team as the main source of offensive power but at least he could act as a source of distraction as Midoriya readied himself for a counterattack. Flicking the outmost fingers of his right hand upwards, two more toothed traps ensnared the ankles of the boy's teammates. Based on earlier experience, it had taken the teammate 10 seconds to free himself from a similar trap. Assuming he couldn't rotate both his legs simultaneously and the other teammate did not possess a quirk optimal for the current situation, this would give Midoriya at least 20 seconds to activate his quirk. Hopefully, it would be enough.

He watched as Midoriya's right hand began to hum with a familiar emerald static that slowly danced its way up to his elbow, where it came to a rest before hissing more aggressively.

"Ready."

At the signal, Uraraka tapped both of Midoriya's knees, before snaking her arms under them and forming the necessary "A" symbol with her hands. Midoriya allowed himself to float upwards, into range of the boy before aiming a punch downwards and letting the force of his quirk carry himself towards his target; green sparks crackling off into small glittering specks in the open air as he grew closer to the ground.

"Not so fast you shitty quirkless Beta!" Yelled Bakugo as he intercepted Midoriya's path. "You're not the only one 'round here with a score to settle with this 1-B asshole!"

Shouto watched as Midoriya attempted to put some distance between Bakugo and himself using his left hand, as Bakugo continued to force him further off path. As if accepting the task as hopeless, Midoriya placed both his arms at his side, falling past Bakugo as he continued downwards. He extended his right hand forward once more as he approached the boy, quickly drawing it in front of himself to block the boy's incoming strike.

"That's quite an interesting quirk you have there, now let's see what it does." Said the boy behind a laugh.

"Oh no." Came the strained remark from Uraraka, as she returned her focus to the task of keeping Midoriya airborne.

"Focus." Reminded Iida.

Keeping his eyes on Midoriya, Shouto noticed a small smirk make its way onto the Beta's face. The boy had said his quirk was a copying quirk, and based on the way he had been acting, it seemed as thought it was activated through touching his target. Which meant… Of course. Midoriya's quirk had been given to him. The boy's quirk would be completely ineffective on him. So that was why he had blocked the strike earlier, even if it meant losing the headband.

"Huh?" Said the boy, a puzzled look crossing his face as he attempted to throw a strike at Midoriya once more.

"Nice try." Replied Midoriya, smiling as his fingers looped under some of the headbands the boy was wearing. "Uraraka!"

Shouto glanced over his shoulder at a now considerably paler looking Uraraka. Sweat now lining her forehead and collecting around her chin, brows furrowed in deep concentration as she clamped her fingers together more tightly.

"Look out!" Called Iida "On your left!"

Following Iida's line of sight, Shouto felt his stomach sink as Bakugo resumed his earlier chase, effortlessly closing in on his target. Now that Midoriya was relying solely on Uraraka's quirk to return to them he was no match for the Alpha's speed.

"Thanks for being useful for once!" Yelled Bakugo, as he swooped past Midoriya, snatching the headbands from his hand. "Sero!"

Cursing inwardly, Shouto watched as the tape-like substance was wrapped around Bakugo's waist once more and he was pulled back to a rather distressed looking Kirishima. He exhaled deeply before strengthening his stance once more to assist Uraraka who was losing the strength to stand.

"Time!" Called Midnight as Midoriya came to a rest on his shoulders.

* * *

"I'm so… Sorry…" Said Uraraka weakly as she cradled the bucket in her arms.

"It's not your fault Uraraka. I messed up." Reassured Midoriya

"No. I failed to perform my assigned role. If I had used my quirk to set traps like you suggested, we would not have been in a situation where Midoriya would have to even risk losing the headband in the first place." Said Shouto, bowing his head.

"Wow man, I think that's da longest sentence I've ever heard ya say." Laughed Kirishima, walking over to the group

"Kirishima!"

"Sup' Midoriya!"

"You're okay."

" 'Course I'm okay! I told ya I'd be fine didn't I?"

"Back on topic, both of our teams made it into the final round, so no one should be feeling sorry." Added Iida, straightening his glasses. "If anything, we should be celebrating our accomplishments."

"At least one of ya's got the right idea." Chuckled Kirishima

"Hey Kirishima, why were you on Bakugo's team anyway?" Asked Midoriya

"That's a bit of a long story, so ya better take a seat."

Shouto smiled to himself as he watched his friends interact with one another. While his team hadn't finished in first place, 1,473 points was nothing to scoff at. Hopefully, his father would at least be satisfied with that.

"I'm going to get some water." Said Shouto, excusing himself from the group.

"No worries man, see ya in a bit!" Replied Kirishima, waving in his general direction.

Iida and Midoriya mirroring his action, while Uraraka gave a thumbs up from where she was seated with her head was bent over into the bucket.

Giving them one final nod, Shouto continued out of the waiting room and into one of the stadium's hallways. As expected of U.A. they'd been perfectly maintained. The entirety of the interior was perfectly white, with no signs of greying anywhere. Not even on the joints between the walls and the floor. Unfortunately, it seemed even with all the funding they had not thought to place a water fountain or vending machine within close proximity to the athlete's waiting room that was used between events. Hopefully, he'd be able to bring the issue to their attention if they ever held a meeting for student suggestions.

Turning left for what felt like the hundredth time that day, Shouto flinched as he bumped into a figure coming around the corner.

"Sorry." Apologised Shouto, keeping his head bowed as a sign of respect.

"I'm glad you've finally learned to keep your head bowed when talking to me Shouto." Responded a voice that immediately made Shouto's blood turn to ice.


	14. Chapter 14

"Your performance disappoints me Shouto." Continued the voice as Shouto stood rooted in place, his teeth clenched to the point he could taste the weight of his father's presence.

"I…"

"You what? You're pleased with the way you made me look like a fool after I went through the trouble of asking U.A. to consider you for their selection program? You're pleased with the way you put my entire reputation at risk?" Added the gruff voice of his father, the element of threat looming after each pause.

"No…" Replied Shouto, forcing himself to fight against the feelings that kept him frozen in place. "I…"

"You're a Gamma, Shouto. You're unable to feel anything except pain and you know that."

"Father, I…"

"Don't call me that. You lost the right to call me that when you walked out of my house."

"Endeavor."

"Much better, Shouto. Don't disappoint me again or there will be consequences." Said the cold voice of his father, as it grew fainter and mingled with the echo of footsteps.

Shouto waited until the dulling echoes faded into nothingness before he finally allowed his knees to give out as he slumped against the wall, the sound of his heartbeat filling his ears. Closing his eyes, he exhaled deeply, the cooling sensation against his cheeks calming him slightly. His father had been surprisingly reserved, but that only unnerved him more. No violent outburst, no charred walls or set off fire alarms, nothing. Something was off, but he had no way of telling what.

Staring up at the grey-tinted ceiling, Shouto allowed himself to rest his forehead on his knees that were now trembling, the heels of his boots tapping franticly, the corridor amplifying them into an uncoordinated drumming.

How long had it been? Shouto flicked his tongue over his bottom lip, flinching at the resistance the dryness of his mouth caused. He didn't have time for this. The third event was going to start any minute now and he didn't even know where the damn water fountain was.

Shouto's head jolted up, his neck cramping slightly as the hallway was filled with the sound of rapidly approaching strides. Placing his hands on the floor he forced himself up into a standing position, taking a moment to readjust some strands of white that had found their way over to the red side of his parting.

"Todoroki!" Called a voice, the final syllable fading off into heavy breaths.

Midoriya.

No sooner had the name found its way into Shouto's mind, did a familiar shade of green flicker past his eyes; the figure doing a double take before clumsily coming to a stop. Shouto was thankful that the Beta was likely too out of breath to note his similar dishevelled appearance.

"Midoriya." Replied Shouto, taking a moment to nod in acknowledgement.

Whether or not the tone in his voice revealed it, something about Midoriya's impromptu appearance had relieved the undefined weight his father's earlier visit had placed on him.

"We were all wondering what was taking you so long, Iida found a drink fountain near the waiting room entrance. Anyway, that's beside the point, they just announced the match ups for the third event! It starts in five minutes; you missed the part where Midnight drew lots. Uraraka's fighting Kacchan in the first round and we're all going to cheer her on, Iida's fighting Asui, Kirishima's fighting a student from 1-B, I'm up against Tokoyami and you're against a student from 1-C. I can't remember their name, but I'm sure you'll do great regardless!"

As expected, his friend was too preoccupied with the suspense of the final event to pay him too much mind.

"Thank you." Replied Shouto softly, as he trailed along behind the Beta back down the hallway.

* * *

Shouto brought his arm up to shield his face as his eyes adapted to the natural lighting of the outdoor arena once more. Hearing the distorted call from Midoriya to hurry over to the group as it danced its way through the growing cheers of the crowd and rested on his ears. Like Midoriya mentioned, it seemed as though he'd missed the introductory portion of the third event, weaving through the crowded mouth of the stadium and making his way over to the familiar faces of Kirishima and Iida.

"Hey man, ya doin' alright?" Asked Kirishima, landing a playful punch on Shouto's shoulder.

"Yes." Replied Shouto, before returning his attention to the raised, stone fighting ring that now stood in the middle of the stadium, that Uraraka currently stood at the base of, waving and smiling as she clumsily made her way up the steps. A large screen above the arena panned across Bakugo's side of the ring, the missing or partially missing steps from his side of the arena only adding to the murderous glint in his eyes.

"Can't believe that outta everyone they got a sweet gal like Uraraka to fight that asshole." Scoffed Kirishima. "I mean there's gotta be something in karma's handbook against dat right?!"

"Life is often unfair." Sighed Iida, placing a hand on the Beta's shoulder to put an end to his friend's squirms of protest that were earning him a fair share of dirty looks from fellow students. "I am sure Uraraka will be fine, as her training partner I can tell you that she should not be underestimated."

"Kacchan won't do anything to her." Added Midoriya softly. "He's going to save his energy for me, I know that look, he's not looking at Uraraka, he's just seeing an obstacle standing between him and me…"

The lack of commentary from either Kirishima or Iida, as Iida continued to apologise to nearby students about Kirishima's antics, only added to the weight Shouto felt staring at the Beta as his friend idly clutched his own wrist. He only knew the stance too well from personal experience.

He considered offering the expected response that it was possible for Uraraka to defeat Bakugo, but he knew that with Midoriya's tactical knowledge his friend had already accepted the fact that at her current skill level, Uraraka was simply unable to hold a candle to Bakugo's raw power. The other option was simply giving the generic, thoughtless response that Midoriya was simply worrying too much and that Bakugo wouldn't actually harm him to the extent he feared; but doing that would be the equivalent of saying nothing. Bakugo had sent Midoriya to the hospital before, and that was with Shouto being there to stop things before they could escalate too far. In the arena Midoriya would be trapped there until he either forfeited or Bakugo decided he'd had enough fun for the day.

There was only one way to stop that situation. He'd have to defeat Bakugo before he even got the chance to face Midoriya.

"Midoriya." Started Shouto, pausing as the boy flicked his head around to face him, his hand still anxiously rubbing at his shoulder.

"Yes?" Replied Midoriya, ceasing his fiddling as though he'd been caught dozing off in class by Mr Aizawa.

"Everything will be fine. I promise."

* * *

"Ouch!" Gasped Uraraka, grabbing Iida's hand tighter as Recovery Girl dabbed at the gash on her calf with disinfectant. "I mean... Tis' but a flesh wound."

Her sudden transition to a Medieval accent earning a chuckle from Iida, before the Alpha forced himself to regain his default stoic expression.

"Ya doing alright?" Asked Kirishima, his face growing considerably paler as he caught sight of her blood-soaked pant leg.

"Yes, don't worry about me Kirishima. It was thoughtful of you to come and check on me, I can tell from your face you're not the best around blood." Replied Uraraka, wincing once again from the stinging sensation.

"What happened out there?" Asked Shouto, once Uraraka relaxed back against the bed.

Although he'd been careful to examine the match as best he could as it unfolded, at some point of the fight Bakugo's explosions had stirred up too much dust for him to be able to observe the fight properly.

"Well all I remember is that I tried to use the rubble from the stadium against him by dropping it on him with my quirk, but he just ended up blasting it all away each time. Eventually we both exhausted ourselves to the point where we ended up relying on our melee skills. It wasn't anything too rough, I just tripped over and well… Here we are I guess."

"You did really well out there." Complimented Midoriya, a familiar rosy tint lining his cheeks.

"Thanks Midoriya." Smiled Uraraka. "Anyway, which one of you have you match next? I didn't get time to check the roster before I got dragged off to fight."

"I believe that would be Todoroki, and it would appear his opponent is a 1-B student called Shinso." Replied Iida, handing his phone to Uraraka so she could scroll through the lineup.

"Oh I know tha guy! Hitoshi right? Him and I go way back, he's got a mind control quirk. My memory's a bit foggy 'bout the specifics, but something ta do with responding to questions if he asks ya any."

"I'll keep that in mind." Replied Shouto

"Somehow I think it'll be an easy fight for ya." Scoffed Kirishima

"It's unfortunate I was the first one eliminated." Sighed Uraraka, leaning back into her pillow. "But at least I get to relax now."

"Someone had to be the first one out." Stated Iida "Nothing to be ashamed of, you just happened to fight first."

"Anyway, enough about me, you better get back out there." Laughed Uraraka, shooing her friends out playfully. "Good luck out there!"

* * *

Shouto exhaled a cloud of frost as he followed Mr Ishiyama from the waiting room and into the hall that would lead him out into the arena.

"Thank you for your patience. Unfortunately, the stadium was quite damaged from the last fight, so I had to see to repairs before your match to ensure the safety of you and your opponent. Don't worry about the crowd though, Midnight was sure to explain the situation and kept them entertained." Came the gruff voice as Mr Ishiyama continued to walk in front of him. "Now, I know that Midnight already explained the rules of the event to you during the orientation, but would you like me to explain anything further before you enter the arena?"

"No thank you, I understand." Replied Shouto, taking the moment to roll his shoulders back in one final stretch.

"Very well, the light above the entrance will turn green when you need to enter the arena, until then you must remain here."

Shouto watched as Mr Ishiyama walked back down the hallway, leaving him standing in a smaller mouth to the stadium, than the one he had watched Uraraka's match from. Peering out from where he leaned against the wall he could once again see the packed stands and eagerly waiting crowd.

A crying mother and comforting father in one of the stands catching his attention among the rest of the audience who were now standing from excitement. Judging from the round face and familiar brunette parting, Shouto guessed that they were Uraraka's parents. A hollow feeling worming its way into his stomach as he watched the display unfold.

It wouldn't last long. A shrill beep shaking him out of his reflective thoughts as his eyes scanned for the source of the noise and came to a stop at the now green light. It was time.

Shouto kept his gaze empty as he made his way up the steps, Kirishima's comments about Shinso echoing in his ears as he neared the summit. His father had fought many opponents in his time as a professional hero and had made Shouto analyse their strengths as weakness as part of his childhood training, but he'd never been exposed to an individual with a mind control quirk. From the sounds of things, they would be perfect for villains based on the types of quirks that were normally associated with criminal activity. Which raised the question of why the student had bothered even enrolling at U.A. if he'd failed to make the hero course, only being considered for the support program. Surely criminal organisations would be willing to pay him top dollar to do their dirty work.

He'd met the boy a few times in earlier events. He seemed more or less normal, friendly even. Either way, he'd have to be careful. He needed to win this fight.

"The second match! Class 1-A's top student Shouto Todoroki versus…" Shouto flinched inwardly as the stadium erupted into cheers and the shuffling of paper sounded over the speakers before the sound of Present Mic filled their ears once more. "Class 1-C's Histoshi Shinso!"

"I knew they'd forget my name. They don't take the general studies students seriously." Groaned Hitoshi. "Oh, hey I remember you, we met before a few times, didn't we?"

Shouto nodded. Don't reply. He continued to repeat the mantra in his head as he gathered frost in his right hand forming a glacial spear.

"Wow I thought you were better than this. I mean I help you out earlier and you react by shoving a weapon in my face? I really thought you were better than this, but no. It seems you take after your father. Such a shame." Scoffed Shinso, picking at a hang nail.

Shouto opened his mouth to respond, before biting his lip, wincing at the unintended force. How did Shinso know about that? It was impossible. After the divorce Endeavour had changed his last name and estranged himself from the Todoroki name.

"Do you really think you're better than me now that you found out I'm only a general studies student? All you 1-A students are like that, you think you're better than us just because the school gives you special treatment. Oh well it was nice while it lasted, just strike me down, give the audience a good show." Continued Shinso, he dark rimmed eyes narrowing into a look of disgust.

A few drips from the icicle were sucked up by Shouto's tracksuit sleeve, wetting it a little as he stood rooted in place. There was no way to get out of this situation unscathed. He'd either win the fight and tarnish his image of being U.A's golden boy, potentially incurring his father's wrath; or he'd give in to Shinso and subject Midoriya to something far worse.

There had to be a way. He stared idly as another drip travelled down his spear and fell onto the soil outside the ring. Of course. There had to be a reason they were fighting on a raised platform If he could push Shinso out of the arena it'd be an easy fight, just like Kirishima said.

Tightening his grip on his weapon once more, he directed his hollow gaze at Shinso, who paused his monologue and instinctively took a step backwards at the sudden display of aggression. As expected Shinso hadn't expected Shouto to actually initiate a fight. Continue to stare at his now intimidated opponent Shouto began to run at the boy, who had quickened his steps backwards.

Shouto noticed a few beads of sweat that had made their way onto the pale boy's forehead as he raised the spear closer to the Alpha's face, threateningly close to one of his dark lined purple eyes. He held the spear in place before giving him a gentle push with his left hand and he fell backwards, landing on his back in the dirt with a soft thud.

"Uh… That's a ring out for Hitoshi Shinso! The winner is 1-A's Shouto Todoroki!" Announced Present Mic, the forced enthusiasm in his voice sounding glaringly obvious. The silence from the crowd only emphasising it further.

Staring at the screen to make sure that his victory was official, Shouto raised his right arm to summon an ice pillar before walking onto it, placing his left hand on it to melt it. Stepping out of the newly formed puddle next to a rather apathetic looking Shinso.

"I'm sorry I wasn't a more interesting opponent." Said Shouto, extending his hand to the purple-haired Alpha

"It's alright, I knew I didn't stand a chance against you anyway." Scoffed Shinso, accepting Shouto's offer to help him up.

"I do want to ask you something." Added Shouto, once the duo had made their way out of the stadium and back into the dimly lit, white hallways.

"And what would that be?"

"How did you know my father was a monster?"

"I didn't. I was just doing cold readings, I saw that you had a burn scar, they're a common domestic abuse injury." Explained Shinso. "My quirk is very reliant on manipulation since I can only control those who respond to my statements, normally anger or guilt are the easiest to elicit. I got unlucky, most of my opponents aren't so… Stoic."

"I see." Replied Shouto.

"I also want to ask you something."

"Yes?"

"You apologised to me even though I tried to manipulate you and showed me respect after my defeat where most would have treated me with disgust. Why?"

"You're a student at U.A. If you're here, you're here for a reason."

"You're really not like most Alpha's I've met. I do hope we can remain on good term Todoroki Shouto." Smirked Shinso at Shouto before walking off.

Shouto watched as the boy continued on, frowning as he saw a blonde-haired student shove Shinso out of the way as the boy continued to walk ahead of him.

"Shinso!" Called Shouto, watching as the Alpha turned around once more.

"Hm?" Responded Shinso

"There are a few students from 1-A who are… Similar to me."

"You're offering to introduce me to your friends?" Scoffed Shinso, as though he was waiting for the punchline of some joke. "Oh, you're being serious."

"Yes."

"Sure, I guess, lead the way then."


End file.
